/u.rner  Z^'^*' 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

GIFT  OF 

Emily  Turner 


U'MJ,^- 


A 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/englandsstoryhisOOtapprich 


Hamo  Thcrnycroft,  R.  A.,  Sculptor 

ALFRED   THE    GREAT 

By  pervttssion  of  A  IJredBowker,  Mayor  of  Winchester,  England,  and  Honorary  Secretary 
of  the  National  Commemoration  of  King  Alfred  the  Great 


ENGLAND'S  STORY 

A  HISTORY  FOR  GRAMMAR 
AND  HIGH  SCHOOLS 


BY 


EVA    MARCH    TAPPAN,    Ph.  D. 

Head  of  the  English  Department,  English  High 

School,    Worcester,  Mass.;    Author  of  '■'■  In 

the  Days  of  Alfred  the  Great, ^'  ''In  the 

Days  of  William  the  Conqueror^^ 

•      " Old  Ballads  in   Prose''   etc. 


^^^^^m 


BOSTON,  NEW  YORK,  AND  CHICAGO 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,    1901,   BY    HOUGHTON,    MIFFLIN   &  C*^ 
ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED. 

Published  September,  iqor 


EDUC- 
PSYCH. 
LIBRARY 


EDUC- 
PSYCa. 
LIBRARY 


PREFACE 


This  book  is  the  outgrowth  of  some  familiar  talks  to 
several  hundred  boys  and  girls  in  the  freshman  classes 
of  the  English  High  School  of  Worcester.  The  aim  of 
these  talks  was :  first,  to  state  facts  rather  than  opin- 
ions ;  second,  to  tell  the  story  of  England  in  such  wise 
as  to  make  a  broad,  simple  basis  for  the  later  study  of 
history  and  literature ;  third,  while  seeking  for  conti- 
nuity and  proportion,  to  give  special  heed  to  the  persons 
and  events  that  young  people  would  be  likely  to  meet 
in  their  general  reading. 

With  the  want  of  a  background  of  knowledge  and 
experience,  unfamiliar  proper  names  are  confusing  and 
meaningless.  I  have  tried,  therefore,  to  mention  no  per- 
son without  an  attempt  to  make  him  of  interest.  Since 
the  limits  and  limitations  of  the  book  permit  the  bring- 
ing of  but  a  few  characters  forward  into  the  light,  any 
older  reader  will,  I  fear,  note  many  omissions.  I  can 
only  plead  that  comforting  line  of  Chaucer :  — 
"  There  nys  no  man  that  may  reporten  al." 

EVA   MARCH   TAPPAN. 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  /ufy,  1901. 


nn*^ 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The  Romans  in  Britain.    sS  b.  c.  to  410  a.  d.    .        i 
II.  The  Saxons  and  the  Danes.    410-1066      ...      12 

III.  The  Normans,     1066-1154 31 

1.  William  the  Conqueror 31   '" 

2.  William  II 43 

3.  Henry  1 49  - 

4.  Stephen  (of  Blois) 57 

IV.  The  Angevins,  or  Plantagenets.    i  154-1399     .      64 

5.  Henry  II.      . 64    ^ 

6.  Richard  I.    .    ." 76   " 

7.  John 82  r- 

8.  Henry  III 88- 

9.  Edward  1 93  ^ 

10.  Edward  II I04  • 

11.  Edward  III 106  - 

12.  Richard  II 115 

V.  Kings  of  Lancaster  and  York.     1399-1485   .    .  123 

13.  Henry  IV 123 

14.  Henry  V 128 

15.  Henry  VI I33 

16.  Edward  IV 143 

17.  Edward  V .148 

18.  Richard  .III 148 

VI.  The  Tudor  Sovereigns.     1485-1603 155 

19.  Henry  VI 1 155 

20.  Henry  VIII 162 

21.  Edward  VI. 176 


vl  CONTENTS 

22.  Mary 183 

23.  Elizabeth • 188 

VII.  The  Stuarts.    1603-1714 211 

24.  James  1 21 1 

*  25.   Charles  1 222 

The  Commonwealth  and  Cromwell      ....  241 

26.  Charles  II 252 

27.  James  II 263 

28.  William  (of  Orange)  and  Mary 271 

29.  Anne 281 

VIII.  The  House  of  Hanover.    1714- 289 

30.  George  I »  .  289 

31.  George  II 294 

32.  George  III 305 

33.  George  IV 327 

34.  William  IV.      .    .    .* 330 

35.  Victoria 335 

36.  Edward  VII.  (of  Coburg) ,    ,  356 


ILLUSTRATIONS,  MAPS,  AND  GENEALOGIES 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Alfred  the  Great.  By  permission  of  Alfred  Bowker, 
Mayor  of  Winchester,  and  Honorary  Secretary  of  the 
National  Commemoration  of  King  Alfred  the  Great 

Frontispiece 

Dover  Cliffs.    From  a  photograph 2 

The  Landing  of  Gesar.  From  a  picture  by  Blakey  as 
shown  in  Craik  and  MacFarlane's  Pictorial  History  of  Eng- 
land        3 

Coracles  of  Early  Britons.  From  Knight's  Old  Eng- 
land    5 

Stonehenge.     From  a  photograph 6 

Roman  Wall.  From  Craik  and  MacFarlane's /'2<:/tfrm////>- 
tory  of  England 10 

Ancient  Jutish  Boat.  From  Engelhardt's  Denmark  in  the 
Early  Iron  Age 13 

Saxon  Buildings.  From  MS.  in  the  Harleian  Library  at  the 
British  Museum,  as  shown  in  Cutts's  Parish  Priests  ...     16 

The  Ruins  of  Whitby  Abbey.     From  a  photograph      .    .     18 

Threshing  and  Winnowing.  From  a  Hymnarium  of  the 
eleventh  century  found  in  the  Cottoman  Library  at  the 
British  Museum.     Knight's  Old  England 20 

The  Coming  of  the  Danes.  From  a  drawing  by  M.  J. 
Burns 23 

Harold  swears  on  the  Relics:  Bayeux  Tapestry. 
From  Jules  Comte's  La  Tapisserie  de  Bayeux 32 

William  sails  to  England:  Bayeux  Tapestry.  From 
Jules  Comte's  La  Tapisserie  de  Bayeux 33 

Battle  of  Senlac:  Bayeux  Tapestry.  From  Jules 
Comte's  La  Tapisserie  de  Bayeux 35 

Westminster  Abbey  in  the  Days  of  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor: Bayeux  Tapestry.  From  Jules  Comte's  La 
Tapisserie  de  Bayeux 37 

A  Norman  Castle  Keep,  Rochester  Castle.  From  a 
photograph 40 


viii  LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Norman   Soldiers.      From   Grose's   Military  Antiquities     44 

Robert,  Duke  of  Normandy,  a  Crusader.  From  S tot- 
hard's  Monumental  Effigies 47 

Durham  Cathedral.     From  a  photograph 50 

Female  Costume,  Time  of  Henry  I.  From  a  psalter  of 
the  twelfth   century,  as  shown  in  Knight's    Old  England    54 

"The  Standard"  of  the  Battle  of  1138.  From  MS. 
Arundel  150  (British  Museum),  an  early  thirteenth  century 
copy  of  part  of  the  Chronicle  of  Roger  of  Hoveden     ...     59 

A  Mystery  Play  at  Coventry.     From  an  old  print     .    .    62 

A  Becket  disputing  with  Henry  II.  From  Hubert  Hall's 
Court  Life  under  the  Plantagenets,  Frontispiece      ....     68 

The  Scene  of  A  Becket's  Murder  in  Canterbury  Ca- 
thedral.    From  a  photograph     . 70 

A  Squire  becoming  a  Knight.  From  a  fourteenth  century 
painting  by  Simone  Memmi,  as  shown  in  Gautier's  La 
Chevalrie 76 

A  Knight  Templar  of  the  Time  of  Richard  I.  From 
Stothard's  Monumental  Effigies *]Z 

Richard  I.  in  Prison.  From,  an  old  MS.  as  shown  in 
'^XxmX.'C^  Ecclesiastical  and  Regal  Antiquities 79 

Military  and  Civil  Costume  in  the  Time  of  Richard  I. 
From  Harley  Roll,  Y  6,  as  shown  in  Gardiner's  Student's 
History  of  England 81 

Magna  Carta  Island,  Runnymede.     From  a  photograph    85 

Facsimile  Extract  from  Magna  Carta.  From  one  of 
the  original  copies  of  the  Magna  Carta  in  the  British 
Museum,  as  shown  in  Craik  and  MacFarlane's  Pictorial 
History  of  England %(> 

Coronation  of  Henry  III.  From  Strutt's  Ecclesiastical 
and  Regal  Antiquities .    .     .     .     ". 89 

Building  Operations  during  the  Reign  of  Henry  III. 
From  Gardiner's  Student's  History  of  England 92 

Plantagenet  King  at  Table.  From  Hubert  Hall's  Court 
Life  under  the  Plantagenets 96 

Coronation  Chair  with  Stone  of  Scone.  From  a  pho- 
tograph   98 

William  Wallace.  After  an  engraving  by  S.  Alphonse 
of  the  statue  by  W.  G.  Stevenson.     From  the  Art  fournal .     99 

A  Band  of  Minstrels.  From  Cutts's  Scenes  and  Charac- 
ters of  the  Middle  Ages 102 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS  fx 

Stirling  Castle.    From  a  photograph 105 

A  Genoese  Crossbowman.     From  Knight's  Old  England .  108 

An  English  Archer.     From  Longma.n's  Edward /I/.    .    .  109 

The  Black  Prince.  From  Stothard's  Monumental  Effi- 
gies      no 

John  Ball  preaching  from  Horseback.  After  a  MS. 
of  Froissart's  "Chronicle."     From  Cutts's  Parish  Priests  .  J13 

John  Wiclif.  From  South  Kensington  National  Portraits. 
Painter  unknown 117 

Geoffrey  Chaucer.  From  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 
Painter  unknown 119 

A  Group  of  Canterjbury  Pilgrims.  From  Cutts's  Par- 
ish Priests 120 

Henry  IV.  and  his  Court.  From  Strutt's  Ecclesiastical 
and  Regal  A  ntiquities 1 24 

A  Group  of  English  Knights,  and  French  Man  at 
Arms.  From  Cutts's  Scenes  and  Characters  Oj( the  Middle 
Ages 129 

Movable  Tower,  Archers,  Cannon,  etc.,  of  the  Fif- 
teenth Century.     From  Knight's  Old  Engla?td     ,    .     .131 

Statue  of  Joan  of  Arc,  by  Fremiet,  Place  des  Pyramides, 
Paris.  From  Louis  Gonse's  Ln  Sculpture  Franqaise  de- 
puis  le  XlVilme  siecle 136 

Costumes  of  Ladies  of  Rank  during  the  Fifteenth 
Century.     From  Strutt's  English  Dress 140 

Edward  IV.,  his  Queen  and  Son.  From  Strutt's  Eccle- 
siastical and  Regal  Antiquities 144 

Facsimile  Specimen  of  Caxton's  Printing.  From  Blade's 
William  Caxton 146 

The  Sanctuary  at  Westminster.  From  Knight's  Lon- 
don  149 

The  Princes  in  the  Tower.  From  the  painting  by  Sir 
John  E.  Millais,  P.  R.  A 151 

Elizabeth  of  York.    From  the  engraving  by  W.  H oil  .    .156 

Henry  VII.  From  the  National  Portrait  Gallery.  Painted 
1505,  by  an  unknown  Flemish  artist  .     ........  156 

General  Costume  in  Time  of  Henry  VII.  From  Knight's 
Old  England I59 

The  Chapel  of  Henry  VII.,  Westminster  Abbey.  From 
a  photograph 161 

Henry  VIII.     After  an   engraving  by  Houbraken  (from  an 


X  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

original  painting  by  Holbein),  in  the  Gardiner  Greene  Hub- 
bard Collection,  Library  of  Congress 163 

English  Warship  which  conveyed  Henry  VI 1 1,  to 
France.  From  Lacroix's  Military  and  Religious  Life  in 
the  Middle  Ages 165 

Wolsey  and  his  Suite.     From  Knight's  Old  England ,    .  168 

Thomas  Wolsey.  From  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 
Painter  unknown 170 

Thomas  Cromwell.  Painted  by  Holbein.  From  South 
Kensington  National  Portraits 1 74 

Edward  VI.     From  the  painting  by  Holbein  at  Windsor      .  177 

Edward  VI.  and  Council.  After  a  woodcut  on  the  title- 
page  of  the  Statutes  of  1551.  From  Law's  History  of 
Hampton  Court  Palace 1 79 

Lady  Jane  Grey.  After  a  drawing  by  Vertue.  From  Wal- 
^o\q;''s  Royal  and  Noble  Authors 180 

Queen  Mary  Tudor,  or  Mary  I.  From  the  painting  by 
Antonius  Moro  in  the  Prado,  Madrid 183 

Philip  IL  From  the  painting  by  Titian  in  the  Prado,  Mad- 
rid  185 

Burning  of  John  Rogers.  From  The  New  England 
Primer 186 

Queen  Elizabeth.  From  an 'engraving  by  HoU  of  an  origi- 
nal portrait  in  Queen  Victoria's  Collection,  St.  James's 
Palace • 189 

Queen  Elizabeth  carried  in  State.  From  the  original 
painting  by  Marc  Gheeraedts,  exhibited  (1866)  at  South  Ken- 
sington Museum 191 

Costumes  of  Lady  and  Country  Woman,  Time  of  Eliz- 
abeth.    ¥romV\?inch€^s  Encyclop(Bdia  of  Costume    .     .     .194 

Mary  Stuart.     From  The  Duke  of  Portland's  Collection    .  196 

Sir  Francis  Drake.     From  the  original  painting  by  A.  Mor  201 

Spanish  Armada  attacked  by  the  English  Fleet,  as 
represented  on  the  ancient  tapestry  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
From  Craik  and  MacFarlane's  Pictorial  History  of  Eng- 
land   203 

William  Shakespeare.  From  "  the  Chandos  Portrait "  in 
the  National  Portrait  Gallery 207 

The  Globe,  Shakespeare's  Theatre.  From  Knight's  Old 
England ,    ,  208 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS  xi 

James  L  From  the  original  painting  by  Paul  Van  Somer  in 
the  National  Portrait  Gallery 212 

The  Gunpowder  Conspirators.  From  Knight's  Popular 
History  of  England 215 

Anne  of  Denmark,  Wife  of  James  I.  (showing  the  "wheel 
farthingale  "  then  worn).  From  Planchd's  Encyclopcedia  of 
Costume 217 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  From  Stalker's  engraving  published 
in  London  in  1812 219 

Charles  I.    After  the  painting  by  Van  Dyke 223 

Soldiers,  Time  of  Charles  I.  From  Planch^'s  Encyclo- 
pcsdia  of  Costume 225 

John  Hampden.  After  an  engraving  by  Houbraken  in  the 
Gardiner  Greene  Hubbard  Collection,  Library  of  Congress  230 

A  Cavalier.  From  Craik  and  MacFarlane's  Pictorial  His- 
tory of  England 235 

A  Roundhead.    From  Fairholt's  Costumes  in  England  .    .  235 

Trial  of  Charles  L,  as  represented  by  a  contemporary 
print.  From  Craik  and  MacFarlane's  Pictorial  History  of 
England 239 

Oliver  Cromwell.     From  a  miniature  by  Samuel  Cooper  .  242 

Seal  of  Commonwealth,  showing  Parlla-Ment.  From 
Craik  and  MacFarlane's  Pictorial  History  of  England    .    .  245 

Medal  to  commemorate  Blake's  Victory.  From  G^ 
rard  Van  Loon's  Histoire  MSdallique 247 

John  Milton.    From  the  crayon  drawing  at  Bayfordbury .    .  249 

The  Royal  Charles.  From  Clowes'  Royal  Navy  in  His- 
tory     253 

The  Coat  of  Arms  of  Colonel  Careless.  From  Fair- 
bairn's  crests 255 

Charles  II.  From  the  original  painting  by  Mrs.  Mary 
Beale  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery 256 

John  Bunyan.  After  a  drawing  from  life  by  R.  White  in 
the  British  Museum.    From  Works  of  John  Bunyan  .     .     .  258 

Costumes  of  Gentlemen  and  Servant,  Reign  of  Charles 
II.     From  Knight's  Old  England 261 

Duke  of  Monmouth.  From  the  original  painting  by  Sir 
Peter  Lely  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery 264 

Judge  Jeffreys.  After  the  original  painting  by  Sir  God- 
frey Kneller 266 


xii  LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

James  II.  From  the  original  painting  by  John  Riley  in  the 
National  Portrait  Gallery 269 

William  III.  From  the  original  painting  by  Jan  Wyck  in 
the  National  Portrait  Gallery 271 

Queen  Mary  II.  From  an  original  painting  by  William 
Wissing  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery 273 

William  crossing  the  Boyne.  From  Knight's  Old  Eng- 
land   277 

Medal  to  commemorate  Mary's  Repulse  of  Louis 
XIV.     YxomY.m^\:^  Old  England 278 

Queen  Anne.  From  the  original  painting  by  John  Closter- 
man  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery 281 

English  Flag;  Union  Jack  of  1707;  Scottish  Flag. 
From  Clowes'  Royal  Navy  in  History       283 

John  Churchill,  Duke  of  Marlborough.  From  the  ori- 
ginal painting  by  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller  in  the  National  Por- 
trait Gallery 285 

Sarah,  Duchess  of  Marlborough.  From  the  original 
painting  by  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller  in  the  National  Portrait 
Gallery 286 

George  I.  From  the  original  painting  by  Sir  Godfrey  Knel- 
/er  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery 289 

Costume  of  Gentleman,  1721.  From  F\a.nch6^s  Encyclo- 
Pcedia  of  Costume 291 

Sir  Robert  Walpole.  After  an  original  painting  by  Zincke. 
From  Coxe's  Memoirs  of  Walpole^  London,  1 798   ....  293 

John  Wesley.     From  the  painting  by  George  Romney     .     .  295 

George  II.  From  the  painting  by  Hudson  in  the  National 
Portrait  Gallery •     •     •  296 

Charles  Edward  Stuart  (Prince  Charlie).  From  the 
original  painting  by  Nicolas  Largilli^re  in  the  National 
Portrait  Gallery 299 

Mall  in  St.  James's  Park  in  1738.  From  Planchd's  ^«- 
cyclopcedia  of  Costume •.    •     •  300 

James  Wolfe.  After  a  print  in  Entick's  History  of  the  Late 
War,  London,  1764 301 

Robert  Clive.  From  the  original  painting  by  Nathaniel 
Dance  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery 302 

George  III.     After  the  original  painting  by  Thomas  Frye    .  306 

A  Revolutionary  Stamp.  From  Memorial  History  of 
Boston 308 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS  xiii 

William  Pitt,  the  Elder.     After  the  original  painting  by 

Richard  Brompton 309 

The  Bastille.     From  Bingham's  History  of  the  Bastille      .  3M 
Irish  Flag  ;  Union  Jack,  1801.     From   Boutell's  English 

Heraldry 318 

Union  Jack  before  1801.     From  Clowes'  Royal  Navy  in 

History 318 

Napoleon  Bonaparte.     From  the  painting  by  Paul  Hippo- 

lyte  Delaroche  in  the  collection  of  the  Coufetess  of  Sandwich  319 
Lord  Nelson.     From  the  painting,  Nelson  in  the  Cabin  of 

the  Victory,  by  Charles  Lucy 319 

Napoleon's  Medal  to  commemorate  his  expected 
Conquest  of  England.  From  Gardiner's  Studenfs  His- 
tory of  England 321 

Arthur  Wellesley,  Duke  of  Wellington.     From  an  ori- 
ginal painting  by  John  Lucas  in  the  National  Gallery,  Dublin  322 
The  Frigate  Constitution  (Old  Ironsides).     From  a  paint- 
ing by  Marshall  Johnson,  Jr.,  owned  by  Benjamin  F.  Stevens, 

Esq.,  Boston,  Mass 324 

George  IV.     From  the  painting  by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence, 

P.  R.  A.,  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery 328 

William  IV.     From  the  painting  by  Martin  A.  Shee    .    .    .  330 
Stephenson's    Locomotive,    "The    Rocket."    From    B. 

Cooke's  British  Locomotives 334 

Queen  Victoria.     From  a  photograph,  1887 337 

The  Houses  of  Parliament,  opened  in  1852.     From  a 

photograph 339 

Prince  Albert.     From  a  photograph 340 

Florence  Nightingale.     From  a  photograph 343 

William  Ewart  Gladstone.    From  a  photograph  (1884)  by 

John  Moffat 348 

Charles  Dickens.     After  a  crayon  drawing  (1868)  by  Sol 

Eytinge,  Jr 352 

Lord  Tennyson.     From  a  photograph 352 

Lord  Macaulay.     From  a  photograph  (1857)  by  Claudet     .  353 
Edward  VII.     From  a  photograph 355 


MAPS 


J>AGI 

Roman  Britain 8 

The  Older  Home  of  the  English  Race 14 

Alfred's  Britain,  with  Historical  Detail   a.  d.  449- 

A.D.  II 54  (full-page,  colored) Facing    26 

The  Angevin  Empire  of  Henry    II.  (full-page,  colored) 

Facing    64 

Historical  Map  of  Scotland 103 

French  Territory  held  by  English  when  Joan  of  Arc 

appeared  a.  d.  1429 134 

Ireland  a.  d.  1600-A.  d.  1900  (full-page,  colored)    .    Facing  232 
England  at   the   Beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  with 
Historical  Detail  a.  d.  1600-A.  d.  1900  (full-page,  col- 
ored)       Facing  236 

Europe  in  a.  d.  1825,  with  Historical  Detail  a.  d.  1500- 

A.  D.  1900  (full-page,  colored) Facing  328 

British-Boer  Wars.    South  Africa .  349 


IMPORTANT  DATES   IN   ENGLISH  HISTORY 

THE- ROMANS   IN  BRITAIN.      SS   B.  C.-4IO  A.  D. 

55  B.  c.  Caesar  first  lands  in  Britain. 

43  A.  D.  The  Romans  begin  to  settle  in  Britain. 

87.  Roman  forts  built  from  the  Forth  to  the  Clyde. 

121  ?  Roman  wall  built  from  the  Tyne  to  the  Sol  way. 

410.  The  Romans  leave  Britain. 

THE   SAXONS   AND   THE  DANES.      4IO-I066 

449.  The  Saxons  settle  on  Thanet. 

597.  St.  Augustine  preaches  Christianity  in  Britain. 

c.  670.  Caedmon,  the  first  English  poet. 

735.  Bede,  the  first  English  historian,  dies. 

c.  829.  Egbert  becomes  "  King  of  the  English." 

871-901.  Alfred  the  Great. 

1013-1042.  Danish  kings  rule. 

1 042-1 066.  Edward  the  Confessor. 

1049.  Westminster  Abbey  begun. 

1066.  Battle  of  Senlac,  or  Hastings. 

/  THE   NORMAN   PERIOD.       I066-II54 

1066-1087.  William  the  Conqueror, 

c.  1066.  Tower  of  London  begun. 

1086.  Domesday  Book  completed. 

1087-1100.  "William  Rufus. 

1096.  First  crusade. 

*  1100-1135.  Henry  I. 

1 100.  First  charter  of  liberties. 

1106.  Battle  of  Tinchebrai. 

1 135-1 1 54.  Stephen  of  Blois. 

II 35.  Charter  of  liberties. 

1135-1153.  Contest  with  Matilda. 

1 138.  Battle  of  the  Standard  (Cowton  Moor> 


XVI     IMPORTANT   DATES   IN    ENGLISH    HISTORY 

THE   ANGEVIN,    OR   PLANTAGENET   PERIOD.       1 154-1399 

II 54-1 1 89.  Henry  II. 

1 160.  Payment  of  scutage. 

1164-1170.  Quarrel  with  a  Becket. 

1 171.  English  rule  in  Ireland  begins. 

1 1 89- 1 1 99.  Richard  I. 

1 189.  Grants  charters  to  many  towns. 

1190.  Becomes  a  crusader. 
'  1199-1216.  John. 

1204.  Loses  Normandy. 

1208.  Quarrel  with  the  church  begins. 

1215.  Magna  Carta  is  signed. 

1 2 16.  War  with  the  barons  begins. 
"1216-1272.  Henry  III. 

1265.  Beginning  of  the  House  of  Commons. 

1265.  Battle  of  Evesham. 

>  1 272-1307.   Ed"ward  I. 

1284.  Conquest  of  Wales. 

1290.  Expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  England. 

1295.  War  with  Scotland  begins. 

*^I307-I327.  Edward  II. 

1 3 14.  Battle  of  Bannockburn. 

>  1327-1377.  Edward  III. 

1328.  Scotland  becomes  independent. 

1338.  Hundred  Years' War  begins. 

1346.  Battle  of  Cr^cy. 

1348-1349.  Black  Death. 

1356.  Battle  of  Poitiers. 

1377-1399.  Richard  II. 

c.  1380.  Wiclif  translates  the  Bible. 

1 38 1.  The  Peasants'  Revolt. 

THE   PERIOD   OF   LANCASTER   AND   YORK.       I399-I485 

1399-1413.  Henry  IV. 

1400.  Death  of  Chaucer. 

1400.  Welsh  rebellion. 

1 401.  First  burning  for  heresy, 
1403.  Battle  of  Shrewsbury. 

1 41 3-1422.   Henry  V. 


IMPORTANT    DATES    IN    ENGLISH  HISTORY     xvil 

141 5.  Battle  of  Agincourt. 

1422-1461.  Henry  VI. 

1429.  Siege  of  Orleans. 

1453.  Hundred  Years'  War  ends. 

1455.  Wars  of  the  Roses  begin. 

1 46 1.  Battle  of  Towton.  ^-,         /I  ^  J    ijj        i 

1461-1483.  Edward  IV.  -^'^^^;t^t^^<J^2>^ /^ih^ 

1475.  "  Benevolences "  originated.  ^ 

1477.  Caxton  introduces  printing. 

1483.  Edward  V. 

1 483- 1 485.  Richard  III.  , 

1485.  Battle  of  Bosworth  Field;  end  of  the  Wars  of  the 
Roses. 

THE   TUDOR   PERIOD.       I485-1603. 

1485-1509.  Henry  VII. 

i486.  Unites  York  and  Lancaster  by  marrying  Elizabeth  of 

York. 

1492.  Columbus  discovers  America. 

1497.  The  Cabots  sail  to  America. 

1 509-1 547.  Henry  Vni. 

1 5 13.  Battle  of  Flodden. 

1516.  More  publishes  "  Utopia."  * 

1520.  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold.  * 

1529.  Fall  of  Wolsey. 

1534.  Independence  of  the  Church  of  England  declared. 

1536.  Seizure  of  the  monasteries  begins. 

1 547-1 553.  Edward  VI. 

1549.  English  Prayer  Book  adopted. 

1552.  Blue-Coat  School  established. 
1553-1558.  Mary. 

1553.  Lady  Jane  Grey  reigns  for  twelve  days. 
1558.  Loss  of  Calais. 

1558-1603.  Elizabeth. 

1577.  Drake  sails  around  the  world. 

1586?  Shakespeare  begins  to  write  plays. 

1587.  Execution  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots. 

1588.  Defeat  of  the  Armada. 

1590.  Spenser  publishes  the  "  Faery  Queen." 

1590?  Ben  Jonson  writes. 


XVlll    IMPORTANT   DATES    IN  ENGLISH  HISTORY 

THE   STUART   PERIOD — FIRST  PART.      1603-1649 

1603-1625.   James  I. 


1605. 

Gunpowder  Plot. 

1607. 

Virginia  settled  at  Jamestown. 

I6II. 

Translation  of  the  Bible. 

I6I8. 

Execution  of  Raleigh. 

1620. 

Massachusetts  settled  at  Plymouth. 

1 625-1 649. 

Charles  I. 

1628. 

Petition  of  Right. 

1630. 

Pilgrims  found  Boston. 

1630. 

"  Ship-money  "  demanded. 

1637. 

English  Prayer  Book  forced  upon  Scotland. 

1 640- 1 660. 

Long  Parliament.     • 

1642. 

Closing  of  the  theatres. 

1642. 

Civil  war  begins  with  battle  of  Edgehill. 

T643. 

Solemn  League  and  Covenant. 

1644. 

Battle  of  Marston  Moor. 

T645. 

Battle  of  Naseby. 

1648. 

"  Pride's  Purge." 

1649. 

Execution  of  Charles  I. 

THE   COMMONWEALTH    AND    PROTECTORATE   PERIOD. 

1649. 

House  of  Lords  abolished. 

1649. 

Charles  II.  proclaimed  king  in  Scotland. 

1649-1650. 

Cromwell's  Irish  campaign. 

165I. 

Battle  of  Worcester  and  flight  of  Charles. 

165I. 

Navigation  Laws. 

1653- 

Cromwell  expels  Parliament. 

1653. 

Barebone's  Parliament. 

1653- 

Cromwell  becomes  Lord  Protector. 

1658. 

The  English  take  Dunkirk. 

1658. 

Richard  Cromwell  becomes  Protector. 

1660. 

A  "free  "  Parliament  called. 

THE   STUART   PERIOD  —  SECOND   PART.       1660-I 

1 660-1 685. 

Charles  II. 

1664. 

Capture  of  New  York. 

1665. 

The  Great  Plague. 

1666. 

The  Great  Fire  of  London. 

I 649- I 660 


IMPORTANT   DATES    IN   ENGLISH   HISTORY    xix 

1667.  Milton  publishes  "Paradise  Lost." 

1670.  Bunyan  publishes  "Pilgrim's  Progress." 

1682.  Pennsylvania  settled  at  Philadelphia. 

1685-1688.  James  II. 

1685.  Monmouth's  Rebellion. 

1688.  Imprisonment  of  the  seven  bishops. 

1688.  Arrival  of  William  of  Orange. 
1 688-1 702.  'William  and  Mary. 

1689.  Bill  of  Rights. 

1689.  Siege  of  Londonderry. 

1690.  Battle  of  the  Boyne. 
1692.  Battle  of  La  Hogue. 

1694.  Death  of  Queen  Mary. 

1695.  Increased  freedom  given  to  the  press. 
1 702-1 714.  Anne. 

1702.  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession. 

1704.  Battle  of  Blenheim. 

1704.  Capture  of  Gibraltar. 

1707.  Union  of  England  and  Scotland. 

171 1.  Addison  contributes  to  the  "  Spectator." 

.  HANOVERIAN   PERIOD.      1714- 

1 714-1727.  George  I. 

1 71 5.  Scotch  Jacobites  rebel  in  behalf  of  the  Pretender. 

1 721.  Walpole  originates  modern  cabinet  system. 

1 727-1 760.  George  II. 

1738.  Rise  of  Methodism. 

1 741.  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession. 

1743.  Battle  of  Dettingen. 

1 745.  Scotch  Jacobites  rebel  in  behalf  of  the  Young  Pretender. 

1749.  Novel  of  home  life  appears. 

1752.  New  calendar  adopted  in  England. 

1756.  Seven  Years'  War. 

1756.  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta. 

1759.  Capture  of  Quebec. 

1 760-1 820.  George  III. 

c.  1760.  Johnson  and  Goldsmith  write. 

1 764-1 784.  Machinery  for  spinning  and  weaving  invented. 

1765.  Watt  invents  the  steam  engine. 

1775.  American  Revolution. 


XX      IMPORTANT   DATES    IN    ENGLISH   HISTORY 


1783. 

England  acknowledges  the  independence  of  America. 

1789. 

French  Revolution. 

c.  1786. 

Burns  writes. 

1793. 

War  with  France. 

1800. 

Great  Britain  and  Ireland  united. 

I8I2. 

Second  war  with  America. 

I8I4. 

Scott's  "  Waverley  "  novels  appear. 

I820-I830. 

George  IV. 

1828. 

Repeal  of  Corporation  Act. 

1828. 

Repeal  of  Test  Act. 

1829. 

Catholic  Emancipation  Act. 

I830-I837. 

William  IV. 

1832. 

Reform  in  electing  members  of  Parliament. 

1833. 

First  "  Factory  Act." 

1833- 

Abolition  of  slavery  in  British  colonies. 

I837-I90I. 

Victoria. 

1840. 

Opium  War. 

1846. 

Repeal  of  corn  laws  begins. 

1848. 

Chartist  agitation. 

I85I. 

World's  Fair. 

1854. 

Crimean  War. 

1857. 

Sepoy  Rebellion. 

I86I. 

Civil  war  in  the  United  States. 

1869. 

Disestablishment  of  the  English  Church  in  Ireland. 

1870. 

First  Irish  land  bill. 

1877. 

Victoria  proclaimed  Empress  of  India. 

1899. 

Boer  War. 

I90I-. 

Edward  VII. 

I 


),^^  ^s^ 


GENEALOGIES 


PAGE 

The  Norman  Kings 63 

The  Angevins  or  Plantagenets 122 

Lineage  of  the  Royal  Houses  of   Lancaster,  York, 

and  Tudor 154 

The  Tudors 210 

The  Stuarts 288 

The  House  of  Hanover 35? 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


CHAPTER   I 

THE   ROMANS    IN   BRITAIN 
55  B.  c.  — 410  A.  D. 

Julius  Cesar 
it 

1.  Caesar  resolves  to  cross  to  Britain.  About  half  a 
century  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  a  great  Roman  gen- 
eral named  Julius  Caesar  set  out  to  subdue  the  various 
tribes  living  in  the  country  that  is  now  called  France. 
The  people  nearest  to  Dover  Straits  resisted  him  longest, 
and  he  concluded  that  some  one  must  be  helping  them. 
Who  could  it  be?  The  tribes  on  three  sides  of  them 
would  not  dare  to  oppose  him,  and  on  the  fourth  side 
was  the  ocean. 

At  last  Caesar  conquered  these  people  and  went 
through  their  land  to  the  sea.  Off  to  the  northwest 
there  were  dim,  white  cliffs  far  out  on  the  horizon.  As 
he  stood  looking  at  them,  he  remembered  the  aid  that 
had  come  to  his  foes  from  some  mysterious  source. 
"That  is  it,"  he  said  to  himself,  "and  if  I  am  to  hold  the 
land  that  I  have  won,  I  must  conquer  that  country  afar 
off  in  the  ocean." 

2.  Caesar's  attempts  to  learn  about  Britain.  Prob- 
ably all  that  Caesar  knew  about  the  country  was  that 
it  was  thought  to  be  an  island,  that  it  was  called  Britain, 
and  that  somewhere  in  Britain  there  were  mines  of  tin. 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


{.55  B.  c. 


He  asked  the  people  whom  he  had  subdued  about  the 
land,  but  they  said  that  they  knew  nothing  of  it  except 
that  merchants  sometimes  went  back  and  forth  between 
the  two  countries.     Then  Caesar  sent  for  the  merchants. 


DOVER   CLIFFS 


"How large  is  this  island.?"  he  asked.  "What  kind 
of  people  live  there .?  When  they  go  to  battle,  how  do 
they  fight  ?  What  weapons  do  they  use  ? "  But  no  help 
did  the  merchants  give  him,  for  they  said  that  they  went 
only  to  the  coast  of  Britain,  and  that  they  knew  nothing  at 
all  about  what  was  inland.  Caesar  saw  that  if  he  wished  to 
find  out  anything  about  this  strange  land  with  the  white 
cliffs,  he  must  get  his  own  information ;  so  he  sent  one 
of  his  officers  across  Dover  Straits  in  a  warship  to  see 
what  could  be  learned  about  the  country.  This  officer  did 
not  think  it  was  wise  to  attempt  to  land ;  and  therefore, 
when  he  came  back,  he  had  little  news  to  bring  to  his 
commander, 


55  B.  c] 


THE   ROMANS    IN   BRITAIN 


3.  Caesar  invades  Britain,  55  B.  C.  Caesar  deter- 
mined to  go  to  the  unknown  country  to  see  for  himself 
what  kind  of  place  it  was,  and  to  conquer  these  people 
who  had  been  helping  his  foes ;  so  one  night,  just  after 
midnight,  he  set  sail  with  eight  or  ten  thousand  men, 
and  by  the  middle  of  the  next  forenoon  they  were  close 
to  the  British  coast  and  ready  to  land.  Landing  was 
not  so  easy,  however,  as  he  had  thought  it  would  be; 


THE   LANDING   OF   CESAR 


for  the  ships  were  so  large  that  they  could  not  go  where 
the  water  was  shallow;  hence  the  soldiers  must  jump 
out  into  the  high  waves  and  wade  ashore  as  best  they 
could.  This  would  have  been  hard  enough  to  do  in  any 
case,  for  they  wore  very  heavy  armor ;  but  worst  of  all, 
there  were  great  numbers  of  men  on  the  shore  ready  to 
fight.  Some  of  them  were  in  war-chariots,  some  were  on 
horseback,  and  some  were  on  foot.  They  were  armed 
with  lances  and  battle-axes  and  clubs  and  bows  and 


4  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [55  b.  c. 

arrows  and  great  stones.  It  is  no  wonder  that  even  the 
brave  Roman  soldiers  hesitated. 

At  last  the  standard-bearer  of  Caesar's  favorite  com- 
pany sprang  overboard  and  called  out :  "  Follow  me, 
soldiers,  unless  you  wish  to  give  up  your  eagle !  "  The 
soldiers,  fearing  the  disgrace  of  losing  their  standard, 
leaped  out  into  the  deep  water  and  made  their  way  to 
the  shore.     After  a  hard  fight,  the  Britons  retreated. 

4.  CsBsar's  description  of  the  Britons.  Caesar  stayed 
only  three  weeks ;  but  the  next  year  he  went  again  with 
more  soldiers;  and  this  time  he  fought  his  way  beyond 
the  Thames.  He  was  writing  a  book  about  his  cam- 
paigns ;  and,  of  course,  he  described  this  far-away  land 
and  its  strange  inhabitants.  Most  of  the  fighters  that 
had  met  him  on  the  shore  had  blue  eyes  and  long,  light 
hair.  They  wore  short  cloaks  of  skins ;  and,  in  order 
to  make  themselves  look  as  terrible  as  possible,  they  had 
stained  their  bodies  with  a  deep  blue  dye.  These  men 
were  so  tall  and  large  that  when  Caesar  looked  at  them, 
he  could  not  help  wishing  that  they  were  in  his  army. 
Farther  north  the  Britons  -lived  on  their  flocks  and  herds 
and  on  the  wild  animals  that  they  killed,  but  in  the  south 
Early  ^^^^  knew  something  of  agriculture.     Most  of 

houses  of  their  houses  were  round;  and  when  a  man 
the  Britons,  ^jgj^g^j  ^q  huM  one,  he  first  marked  out  on  the 
ground  the  size  that  he  meant  the  house  to  be.  Then  he 
set  down  poles  close  together  and  made  them  firm  by 
weaving  in  pliant  twigs.  For  the  roof  he  fastened  other 
poles  to  the  top  of  the  first  and  brought  them  together 
in  a  point.  When  he  meant  his  house  to  be  especially 
handsome,  he  peeled  the  poles.  There  were  no  windows, 
and  the  only  way  for  the  smoke  to  get  out  was  through 
the  little  hole  in  the  point  of  the  roof. 

6.  What  the  Britons  could  do.     In  spite  of  their 


55  B.  c] 


THE    ROMANS    IN   BRITAIN 


uncomfortable  way  of  living,  the  Britons  were  very  fond 
of  ornaments  ;  and  they  made  beads  and  bracelets  and 
necklaces,  some  of  which  are  exceedingly  pretty.     They 


WICKER   WORK   CORACLES   OF   EARLY    BRITONS 


knew  how  to  make  wagons  with  wheels,  and  they  were 
particularly  skilful  in  weaving  wicker  work.  They  made 
very  simple  boats  by  hollowing  out  logs,  and  very  light 
ones  by  covering  wicker  work  with  the  skins  of  wild 
beasts ;  but  they  also  understood  how  to  build  boats  of 
planks  fastened  together  by  metal  nails. 

6.  Druidism.  Their  religion  was  called  Druidism. 
It  was  a  fierce,  strange  belief.  Part  of  it  was  exceed- 
ingly cruel,  for  the  priests,  or  Druids,  taught  the  people 
to  make  wicker-work  enclosures  outlining  the  cruelty  of 
shape  of  some  animal,  and  in  these  enclosures  i^"»i**»™- 
to  offer  up  sacrifices  of  human  beings.  They  took  crimi- 
nals when  there  were  any ;  but  if  the  supply  of  criminals 
failed,  they  then  took  innocent  persons. 

Part  of  their  religion  was  very  superstitious,  for  they 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[55  B.  C. 


worshipped  serpents,  streams,  and  trees,  especially  the 
oak  tree :  and  when  an  oak  was  found  with  a 

Supersti- 
tions of         mistletoe  growing  on  it,  they  were  overjoyed. 

They  marched  to  the  tree  in  a  procession, 
the  Druids  going  first  with  their  long  beards  and  trail- 
ing robes.  The  other  people  followed,  and  when  they 
came  to  the  oak  tree,  they  circled  around  it,  the  common 
people  farthest  off ;  for  an  oak  that  bore  a  mistletoe  was 
too  holy  for  any  one  but  a  priest  to  touch.  Then  the 
Druids  sacrificed  two  white  bulls  ;  and,  after  much  chant- 
ing and  many  strange  ceremonies,  one  of  the  priests  cut 
away  the  plant  with  a  golden  knife. 

This  reverence  may  have  been  shown  to  the  mistletoe 


STONEHENGE 


because  of  its  possessing  some  medicinal  value,  for  the 
Druids  were  doctors  as  well  as  teachers  and  priests. 
They  really  knew  a  great  deal  about  the  use  of  herbs  in 
disease,  though  they  had  all  sorts  of  CLueer  notions  about 
gathering  them.  Sometimes  the  herbs  must  be  cut  by 
moonlight,  and   sometimes  when  the  sun  was  bright ; 


55  B.  c]  THE   ROMANS   IN   BRITAIN  7 

sometimes  the  priest  who  went  for  them  must  wear  a  white 
pobe  or  go  barefooted  or  cut  them  with  a  golden  knife. 

Some  parts  of  the  teaching  of  the  Druids  were  good  ; 
for  instance,  the  people  were  told  not  to  be  afraid  to  die, 
since  they  were  going  to  live  forever.     They  ^^j^^twas 
were  taught  much  about    the   different    coun-  good  in 

r      ^  111.  ^1  r    Druidism. 

tries  of  the  world,  the  stars,  the  cause  of 
night  and  day  and  thunder  and  lightning.  The  teaching 
was  not  very  accurate,  but  it  was  better  than  nothing, 
because  it  set  the  people  to  thinking,  and  noticing  what 
was  around  them.  On  Salisbury  Plain  in  southern  Eng- 
land   are    massive  stones   arranged  in  two  circles,  one 

within  the  other.      This  place  is  called  Stone- 

1  ,       TT         .        r-  ,  .     .       ,  ,       Stonehenge. 

henge,  or  the  Hangmg  Stones,  and  it  is  thought 

that  they  may  be  the  remains  of  a  Druid  temple. 

7.  The  Romans  at  home.     When  Caesar  went  back 

to  Rome  and  told  of  his  invasion  of  Britain,  the  senate 

ordered  a  thanksgiving  of  twenty  days  in  honor  of  what 

they  called  a  glorious  victory.     The  Romans  were  the 

greatest  nation  in  the  world  in  those  times,  though  the 

"  world  "  meant  little  more  than  the  territory  about  the 

Mediterranean  Sea.     They  built  handsome  temples,  they 

made  beautiful   statues,  and   they  had  great  poets  and 

orators  and  historians.     They  were  fond  of  good  roads, 

and  wherever  they  went,  one  could  be  sure  of  finding 

smooth,  firm  highways.      They  liked   pure   water,   and 

they  spent  large  sums  of  money  to  bring  it  into  Rome. 

They  were  the  wisest  makers  of  laws  that  the  world  had 

ever  seen.     To  be  a  Roman  citizen  was  an  honor,  and 

gave  a  man  many  privileges.     In  the  days  of  Saint  Paul, 

when  the  chief  captain  bound  him  and  was  about  to 

scourge  him,  the  prisoner  asked  quietly,  "  Is  it  Acts  xxn. 

lawful  for  you  to  scourge  a  man  that  is  a  Ro-  ^^■ 

man,  and  uncondemned .? "     Then  the  chief  captain  was 


8 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[43  A.  D. 


badly  frightened  because  he  had  ventured  even  to  bind  a 
Roman  citizen  without  a  trial. 

The  Romans  were  greatly  interested  in  Caesar's  stories 
of  the  new  country,  but  they  had  much  to  attend  to  at 
home ;  and  that  is  why  nearly  one  hundred  years  passed 
before  they  landed  again  on  the  shores  of  Britain. 

The.  Later  Romans. 

8.  The  Romans  settle  in  Britain.  The  Romans  had 
not  forgotten  the  far-away  land,  however,  and  when  they 

went  there  again. 


a  century  later, 
they  founded  col- 
onies, and  fought 
until  they  con- 
quered the  people 
who  opposed  the 
new  rule.  The 
Britons  were  good 
fighters,  but  they 
had  not  the  mili- 
tary drill  and  train- 
ing of  the  Roman 
soldiers ;  and  al- 
though they  often 
rebelled,  the  Ro- 
mans were  at  last 
the  victors.  The 
conquerors  built 
forty  or  fifty  walled 
towns ;  and,  wher- 
ever a  town  has  to-day  a  name  ending  in  Chester  or  c ester 
or  caster^  like  Dorchester  or  Worcester  or  Lancastery  we 
may  be  sure  that  it  is  on  the  site  of  an  old  military  set- 


ROMAN    BRITAIN 


43-410]  THE    ROMANS    IN    BRITAIN  9 

tlement,  because  the  Roman  word  for  camp  was  castra. 
If  the  modern  name  of  a  place  ends  in  coin,  Hke  Lin- 
coln, that,  too,  is  of  Roman  origin,  because  the  Roman 
word  for  colony  was  colonia. 

The  Romans   built    large,  handsome  country  houses. 
The  walls  were  beautifully  painted,  and  the  floors  were 
paved   with  marble  of   many  colors.     Around 
these  houses  were  spacious  gardens,  adorned  of  the 
with  statues  and  rich  in  all  kinds  of  fruit  that     °™"^** 
could  be  made  to  grow  on  the  island.     Even  to-day,  in 
digging  in  different  parts  of  England,  people  often  find 
pieces  of  statuary  and  vases,  and  ornaments  of  gold  or  of 
silver,  that  were  once  used  to  beautify  the  British  homes 
of  the  Romans. 

The  conquerors  were  living  in  luxury,  but  the  native 
Britons  were  obliged  to  pay  enormous  taxes  to  support 
all  this  comfort  and  elegance.  Many  of  them  Homes  of 
had  to  work  in  the  mines  or  on  the  roads,  and  ^^  Britons, 
to  live  in  little  mud  hovels.  Thousands  were  made  to 
enter  the  Roman  army,  and  some  few,  who  were  sons  of 
chiefs,  learned  the  Roman  language  and  became  officers. 

The  Romans  wished  to  be  able  to  send  troops  quickly 
wherever  there  was  need  of  them,  and  so  they  built  two 
long  roads  across  Britain  in  the  shape  of  an  X,  ^^^^ 
besides  several  shorter  ones.     They  were  often  roads  and 
troubled  by  the  attacks  of  the  Scots  from  the 
north  of  Ireland,  and  the  Picts,  or  •*  painted   people," 
who  lived  in  what  is  now  Scotland,  and  also  by  the  com- 
ing of  the  Saxons  from  Denmark  and  the  countries  near 
it.     To  shut  off  the  Picts,  they  built  a  line  of  forts  across 
Scotland  from  the  Forth  to  the  Clyde ;  but  before  many 
yeajs  they  found  that  they  could  not  defend  their  pos- 
sessions  so  far  north,  and  then  they  built  a  solid  wall 
extending  from  the  Tyne  to  Solway  Firth.    On  this  wall 


lO 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[410 


there  were  stone  strongholds  and  watchtowers,  and  once 
in  every  four  miles  there  was  a  fort  where  soldiers  were 
always  stationed.  To  keep  away  the  Danes,  there  was  a 
whole  line  of  forts  built,  extending  around  the  southeast- 
ern coast  of  Britain. 

9.  The  Romans  leave  Britain  in  410  A.  D.     If  the 
Romans  could  have  given  all  their  attention  to  Britain, 


A   ROMAN   WALL 


they  would  have  been  able  to  overcome  the  whole  island, 
but  there  was  trouble  in  Rome.  The  barbarous  tribes  that 
lived  to  the  north  and  east  were  pressing  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  city,  and  the  Romans  must  defend  their 
own  country.  Every  year  fewer  'Romans  came  to  Brit- 
ain, and  every  year  some  of  the  conquerors  had  to  return 
to  Italy.  At  last,  in  410,  soldiers  and  commanders  de- 
parted from  the  island,  and  never  again  did  they  set  foot 
on  British  soil. 


4lo]  THE   ROMANS    IN    BRITAIN  II 

While  the  Romans  had  been  in  Britain,  the  conquered 

people  had  learned  from  them  much  that  was  good.    They 

had  learned  how  to  make  excellent  roads  and  «  . 

Qaln  zTom 
how  to  drain  the  swamps.     They  had  seen  that  the  Roman 

houses  could  be  built  that  would  be  far  more  "^^®' 

comfortable  than  huts  of  poles.     They  had  found  that 

it  was  not  enough  for  soldiers  to  be  brave  and  fearless ; 

they  must  also  be  drilled  and  know  how  to  obey  their 

commander,  so  that  an  army  could  be  managed  as  if  it 

Were  a  great  machine.     The  most  valuable  thing  of  all 

that  they  had  learned,  however,   was  that  there  were 

other  people  in  the  world  who  knew  more  than  they, 

and  other  ways  of  living  that  were  better  than  theirs. 

With  this  gain  there  was  also  a  loss,  for  many  of  them 

had  begun  to  feel  that  the  way  to  be  happy  was  to  live  in 

luxurious  houses  and  be  waited  upon  by  slaves  ,      ^ 

^  ■'  Loss  from 

instead  of  working  for  themselves.  Then  in  'the  Roman 
their  fighting,  although  they  were  just  as  brave 
as  ever,  they  had  become  accustomed  to  thinking  that 
their  leaders  must  be  Romans ;  and  when,  a  few  years 
later,  the  time  came  that  they  must  both  fight  and  lead, 
they  felt  helpless  and  wished  that  the  Romans  were  with 
them  again. 

SUMMARY 

Julius  Caesar  first  led  the  Romans  into  Britain.  He  found 
a  people  that  were  warlike,  of  some  mechanipal  ability,  and 
with  a  slight  knowledge  of  agriculture.  Rome  celebrated 
the  invasion,  but  made  no  immediate  attempts  to  conquer  the 
country. 

One  century  later,  the  Romans  subdued  Britain  as  far 
north  as  the  Solway,  made  settlements,  and  ruled  in  the  land 
for  nearly  four  hundred  years.  Their  dominion  may  be  traced 
by  remains  of  roads,  walls,  and  villas,  and  by  the  presence  of 
a  few  Roman  words  in  the  English  language. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   SAXONS   AND   THE   DANES 
410-1066 

10.  The  Saxon  Conquest.  After  the  Romans  had 
gone,  matters  grew  worse  and  worse  with  the  Britons, 
for  the  Scots  and  Picts  were  coming  down  upon  them 
from  the  north  and  northwest,  and  the  Saxons  were 
coming  from  over  the  sea  and  landing  on  the  eastern 
and  southern  shores.  These  marauders  burned  the 
houses  and  crops,  stole  the  treasures,  and  either  killed 
"The  the  people  or  carried  them  away  as  slaves.     At 

uieBrit°*  ^^^^  ^^^  sufferers  sent  a  piteous  letter  to  Rome, 
ons."  It  was  called  "The  Groans  of  the  Britons,"  and 

it  begged  that  the  Romans  would  come  and  help  them. 
"  The  barbarians,"  it  said,  "  drive  us  to  the  sea,  the  sea 
drives  us  back  to  the  barbarians ;  and  between  them  we 
are  either  slain  or  drowned."  There  were  other  barba- 
rians, however,  than  those  that  distressed  Britain,  and 
now  great  hordes  of  them  were  coming  down  upon 
Rome,  so  that  the  Romans  had  more  than  they  could  do 
to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  not  one  soldier  could  be 
spared  to  help  the  poor  Britons.  What  should  the  dis- 
tressed people  do  ? 

The  chief  men  met  together  and  talked  it  over.  At 
last  one  of  them  said  :  — 

"  The  Romans  do  not  help  us,  and  there  is  no  one  else 
to  call  upon.     The  Saxon3  are  stronger  than  the  Scots 


449] 


THE   SAXONS   AND   THE   DANES 


13 


and  Picts.     Let  us,  then,  ask  the  Saxons  to  come  over 
and  fisfht  for  us.     We  can  erive  them  the  island  „^ 

°  °  The  appeal 

of  Thanet  for  their  home,  and  we  shall  be  free  to  tie 

from  the  robbers  of  the  north." 

The   strangers   were   invited   to   come.     They  came, 

they  drove  away  the  Scots  and  Picts,  and  they  settled 

on  Thanet.     Before  lone:,  they  found  Thanet  „^  „ 

°'  ^  The  Saxons 

too  small,  so  they  drove  the  Britons  away  from  come  in 
the  southeastern  corner  of  the  land,  and  took  it 
for  themselves.  More  and  more  of  the  Saxons  came, 
and  farther  and  farther  to  the  west  were  the  Britons 
driven.  They  were  not  cowards,  and  they  resisted  so 
valiantly  that  it  was  more  than  one  hundred  years  before 
they  were  really  overcome.  Tennyson's  "  Idylls  of  the 
King"  tell  of  the  King  Arthur  who  stood  so  boldly 
against  the  invaders.  The  end  of  it  was,  however,  that 
most  of  the  Britons  were  killed  or  else  became  slaves, 
while  the  few  who  escaped  had  to  flee  to  the  mountains 


ANCIENT  JUTISH    BOAT 
Found  buried  in  a  peat  bog  in  Nydam,  South  Jutland. 


of  Wales  to  save  their  lives.    Britain  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  Saxons, 


14 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[Sth  Cent. 


11.  The  Saxons  on  the  continent.  These  new  con- 
querors had  lived  in  Jutland  and  about  the  mouth  of  the 
Elbe  River.  They  were  called  Saxons,  Angles,  and 
Jutes,  but  the  Britons  spoke  of  them  all  as  Saxons,  per- 
haps because  the  short,  broad  knife  that  they  carried  in 
battle  v^as  called  a  seax.     Savage  as  they  were  with  the 

Britons,  the  Saxons  had  many  good  traits, 
of  the  They  were  brave  and  warlike  on  land  and  sea. 

They  had  so  much  respect  for  women  that 
when,  in  their  earliest  poem,  a  wicked  woman  is  intro- 


THE  OLDER  HOME  OF  THE  ENGLISH  RACE 


duced,  the  author  speaks  of  her  as  if  he  were  greatly  sur- 
prised that  a  woman  should  be  evil.  They  cultivated 
the  ground,  lived  on  simple  food,  and  were  always  ready 
to  share  whatever  they  had  with  any  one  who  came  to 
be  their  guest.  They  were*  not  willing  to  live  in  cities, 
but  wished  every  family  to  have  a  house  with  some  land 
around  it.  Their  leaders  never  told  them  what  they 
must  do,  but  they  all  met  in  the  open  air  and  talked  over 


SthCent]     THE   SAXONS   AND   THE   DANES  1 5 

what  was  best ;  then  they  decided  the  question  by  vot- 
ing. They  worshipped  many  gods,  and  among  them  were 
the  seven  from  whom  the  days  of  the  week  are  named, 
—  the  sun,  the  moon,  Tui,  Woden,  Thor,  Frea,  Seotre. 
Our  word  Easter  comes  from  their  Eostre^  who  was  the 
goddess  of  spring. 

Before  the  Saxons  came  to  Britain,  they  composed  an 
epic  poem  called  Beowulf!    The   story  of  it  is  that  a 
certain  king  had  built  a  hall  for  his  dwelling-  Beowuii, 
place  and  that  of  the  brave  men  who  stood  by  ^J^** 
his  side  in  battle.     At  one  end  of  the  hall  was  poem, 
a  raised  platform,  where  the  lord  and  his  family  and  his 
most  honored  thegns,  or  nobles,  sat  at  feasts.     Two  long 
lines  of  pillars  went  the  length  of  this  hall.     Between 
them  were  stone  hearths,  where  the  meat  was  cooked  in 
the  blazing  fires.     On  either  side  of  the  hearths  were 
tables  for  the  other  thegns,  and  Beyond  the  tables,  per- 
haps separated  from  them  by  tapestry,  were  places  for 
the  men  to  sleep. 

In  this  great  hall  they  ate  and  drank,  and  listened  to 
the  harpers,  who  sang  to  them  of  the  great  deeds  of  the 
heroes  of  their  race.  The  wife  and  the  daughters  of  the 
lord  often  came  in  and  passed  the  mead  to  the  thegns ; 
and  when  one  had  been  especially  brave,  a  great  honor 
was  shown  him,  for  the  wife  of  his  lord  put  a  golden 
necklace  around  his  neck  or  a  heavy  golden  bracelet  on 
his  arm,  or  she  gave  him  a  sword  with  some  magic  let- 
ters called  runes  engraved  on  it,  and  these  were  sure  to 
bring  him  success  in  battle. 

They  would  have  felt  very  happy  in  this  hall,  had  it 
not  been  that  sometimes  at  night  a  fearful  monster  named 
Grendel  came  stalking  through  the  mists  and  stole  away 
some  of  the  thegns  to  devour  them.  No  sword  could 
wound  him  ;   whoever  vanquished  Grendel  must  over- 


i6 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[5th  Cent. 


come  him  by  main  force.  The  old  king  and  the  thegns 
were  in  despair,  when  the  brave  young  hero  Beowulf  ap- 
peared.    He  killed  both  this  monster  and  another  one 


SAXON  BUILDINGS 

The  hall  in  the  middle,  the  church  on  the  right.    The  nobleman  and  his  wife  are  dis, 
tributing  alms  to  the  poor. 

that  came  to  avenge  the  first,  and  so  gave  peace  and 
happiness  to  the  king  and  his  thegns.  Beowulf  was 
loaded  down  with  rich  presents,  and  he  went  home  in 
triumph  with  his  men.  Many  years  later,  Beowulf  was 
killed  in  an  encounter  with  a  fire-breathing  dragon  that 
had  hidden  away  in  a  cave  a  great  quantity  of  gold  and 
silver,  together  with  swords  and  chains  and  bracelets  and 
necklaces. 

This  poem  was  not  written  until  perhaps  four  hundred 
years  after  it  was  composed.  One  harper  would  sing  it, 
and  then  another  would  sing  it  as  he  remembered  it,  put- 
ting in  new  lines  whenever  he  forgot,  and  adding  to  the 
story  wherever  he   thought   that   he  could  improve  it. 


449-597]       THE   SAXONS   AND   THE    DANES  1/ 

Finally,  the  poem  was  written,  and   one  of  the  manu- 
scripts chanced  to  be  saved. 

12.  Christianity  is  preached  in  England.  The  Brit- 
ons had  known  something  of  Christianity  long  before 
this ;  but  after  the  Saxons  came,  there  was  so  little  of  it 
left  in  the  country  that  people  spoke  of  the  island  as  a 
heathen  land.  There  were  Christians  hidden  away  in  the 
mountains  of  Wales  ;  and  in  Ireland  an  eager  missionary 
called  Saint  Patrick  had  told  the  Irish  of  Christianity, 
and  they  had  flourishing  churches  and  famous  schools, 
while  England  was  worshipping  the  heathen  gods.  The 
country  was  not  entirely  forsaken,  however,  for  far  away, 
over  the  sea  and  over  the  mountains,  was  a  monk  named 
Gregory,  who  was  thinking  about  the  needs  of  this  land 
very  earnestly.  One  day  he  had  seen  in  the  market-place 
in  Rome  some  young  Saxons  who  were  to  be  sold  as 
slaves.  Most  of  the  Romans  had  dark  complexions,  and 
these  Saxons,  with  their  fair  skin,  red  cheeks,  blue  eyes, 
and  ffolden  hair,  seemed  to  him  as  beautiful  as  ,^„  „ 

^  '  597.  Pope 

angels.     This  monk  finally  became  pope,  and  Gregory 
then  he  could  carry  out  his  wish  that  the  Sax-  Augustine 
ons  should  know  Christianity.    He  himself  could  ^°  England, 
not  go  away  from  Rome,  but  in  597  he  sent  an  earnest 
missionary  named  Augustine  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
them. 

The  king  of  Kent  had  a  Christian  wife,  and  so  did  not 
object  to  Saint  Augustine's  coming  to  England  ;  at  least, 
he  was  willing  that  the  missionaries  should  land  on 
Thanet.  "  Then,"  he  said,  "  I  will  meet  you  there,  and 
hear  what  you  have  to  say  about  this  new  religion,  and  if 
it  seems  to  me  to  be  true,  I  will  accept  it." 

The  king  thought  that  these  strangers  might  possibly 
practise  magic,  and  for  fear  of  evil  spirits  he  had  the 
assembly  in  the  open  air,  where  demons  would  have  less 


i8 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[6th-7th  Cent 


power  than  in  a  house.  Saint  Augustine  and  the  others 
came  to  the  place  of  meeting.  A  beautiful  silver  cross 
was  borne  first,  gleaming  in  the  sunlight,  and  a  picture, 
or  image,  of  Christ.  Then  came  the  missionaries  chant- 
ing the  litany.  The  king  watched  and  listened  intently, 
but  said  nothing.  The  strangers  offered  up  prayers  for 
themselves  and  for  the  people  whom  they  were  so  eager 
to  teach,  and  then  Saint  Augustine  stood  before  the  king 
The  king  oi  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  about  the  religion  of  the  one  God. 
Kent  The  Saxons  were  never  hasty  in  accepting  any 

oiurtstian-  new  ideas,  and  the  king  went  home  to  think 
**^'  aoout  the  matter.     It  was  not  long  before  he 

told  Saint  Augustine  that  he  believed  the  new  religion 
was  true,  and  that  he  was  glad  to  have  the  missionaries 
teach  his  people  about  it. 

13.  Csedmon,  the  first  English  poet.  About  670. 
Churches  and  convents  soon  began  to  rise  in  the  land. 
One  of  these  convents  was  on  a  cliff  at  Whitby,  far  up 


THE  RUINS  OF  WHITBY  ABBEY 


7th-8th  Cent.]    THE  SAXONS  AND  THE  DANES  IQ 

on  the  northeast  shore  of  England.  It  was  the  custom 
at  the  feasts  for  each  one  in  turn  to  take  the  harp  and 
sing  verses  that  he  either  composed  or  remembered. 
There  is  a  legend  that  Caedmon,  one  of  the  dwellers  at 
this  convent,  felt  so  disgraced  because  he  could  not  sing 
any  verses  that,  when  the  harp  was  coming  near  him,  he 
slipped  away  and  went  to  the  stable.  In  a  dream  he 
heard  a  voice  saying  :  — 

"  Caedmon,  sing  !  " 

"But  I  cannot  sing,"  he  said,  "and  that  is  why  I  came 
away  from  the  feast." 

"  You  must  sing  for  me,"  said  the  voice.  • 

"What  shall  I  sing  .^^ "  asked  Caedmon. 

"  Sing  about  the  creation  of  the  world,"  answered  the 
voice. 

Caedmon  sang,  and,  when  he  awoke,  he  found  that  he 
had  not  forgotten  the  verses.  The  abbess  was  told  of 
the  wonderful  dream ;  and,  after  Caedmon  had  made 
more  verses,  she  concluded  that  the  new  power  that  had 
come  to  him  was  a  gift  from  God.  His  poem  is  about 
the  creation,  and  is  a  kind  of  paraphrase  of  the  Book  of 
Genesis.  This  is,  so  far  as  we  know,  the  first  poetry 
that  was  written  in  England. 

14.  The  Venerable  Bede,  the  first  writer  of  English 
history.  673-736.  For  the  first  prose  we  must  turn  to 
another  convent  and  to  a  monk  whose  name  was  Bede. 
He  must  have  been  one  of  the  busiest  of  people,  for  this 
convent  was  also  a  great  school.  There  were  six  hun- 
dred monks,  and  no  one  knows  how  many  other  men 
who  came  there  to  study.  Bede  helped  to  teach  these 
men  ;  he  performed  all  the  religious  duties  that  belonged 
to  a  monk,  and  he  also  shared  in  the  work  of  the  farm. 
He  says  that  he  enjoyed  winnowing  and  threshing,  and 
giving  milk  to  the  little  lambs  and  to  the  calves.     With 


20 


ENGLAND'S    STORY  [7th-8th  Cent. 


all  this  work,  he  found  time  to  write  much  poetry,  and 
Bede's  many  volumes  about  science,  music,  and  medi- 
writings.  cine.  At  length  the  king  of  Northumbria  asked 
him  if  he  would  not  write  a  history  of  the  church  in  Eng- 
land, and  so  it  came  to  pass  that  he  wrote  the  "  Ecclesi- 
astical History."     It  is  almost  the  only  book  that  tells  us 


THRESHING  AND  WINNOWING 


about  the  early  days  of  Britain,  and  we  have  to  select  from 
this  what  is  probably  true,  and  what  was  only  hearsay 
among  a  people  who  were  ready  to  believe  anything,  if 
it  was  only  wonderful  enough.  This  is  the  book  that  says 
there  are  no  snakes  in  Ireland,  and  it  goes  further,  for 
it  says  that  the  smell  of  the  air  kills  them,  and  that,  if 
a  person  bitten  by  a  serpent  will  only  swallow  a  few 
scrapings  from  an  Irish  book,  he  will  be  cured. 

As  Latin  was  the  language  of  the  church  and  of  the 
convent,  Bede  naturally  wrote  in  Latin  ;  but  he  wished 
Early  Eng-  to  put  the  Bible  into  English  so  that  the  unedu- 
ush  prose,  cated  people  might  understand  it.  He  worked 
on  this  translation  till  the  last  day  of  his  life,  dictating 
the  Gospel  of  Saint  John  to  one  of  his  pupils.  At  last, 
when  evening  came,  he  closed  his  eyes  in  weariness. 
The  young  man  said  :  — 

*' There  is  one  sentence  to  write,  dear  master." 


7th-9thCent.]   THE  SAXONS  AND  THE  DANES  21 

"Take  your  pen  and  write  quickly,"  said  Bede. 

"  Now  it  is  finished,"  said  the  pupil. 

'*Yes,  it  is  finished,"  said  Bede.  He  chanted  a  few 
words  of  praise  to  God  and  closed  his  eyes.  It  is  one  of 
his  pupils  who  tells  us  the  story,  and  we  may  believe  it  to 
be  true.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  the  translation  has  been 
lost,  for  it  was  the  first  piece  of  prose  that  was  written  in 
England. 

Bede  is  often  spoken  of  as  the  Venerable  Bede.     "  Ven- 
erable" is  a  title  of  honor  not  quite  so  high  as  that  of 
*'  saint."     It  was  probably  bestowed  upon  him 
some  time  after  his  death,  but  there  is  a  legend  "ven- 
that,  when  he  was  old,  he  became  blind,  and 
had  a  boy  to  lead  him  about.     This  boy  was  full  of  mis- 
chief, and  one  day  he  led  Bede  into  a  desert  place,  and 
asked  him  to  preach  to  a  great  crowd  waiting  to  hear 
him.     Bede  preached,  and  at  the  end  of  the  sermon  the 
naughty  boy  was  badly  frightened  to  hear  all  the  stones 
cry  out,  "  Amen,  Venerable  Bede  !  amen." 

16.  Egbert,  "King  of  the  English."  829.  In  Bede's 
time  England  was  divided  into  several  districts.  At 
the  head  of  each  was  a  king,  or  chief,  and  every  one  was 
trying  to  get  more  power  than  the  others.  This  strug- 
gle went  on  for  nearly  a  century  after  Bede's  death,  but 
at  last,  about  829,  a  king  named  Egbert,  who  lived  in 
Wessex,  in  southern  England,  showed  himself  stronger 
than  the  rest,  and  one  by  one  the  others  acknowledged 
him  as  overlord ;  that  is,  they  paid  tribute  to  him,  and 
promised  to  obey  if  he  called  upon  them  to  help  him 
fight.  He  took  the  title  of  "  King  of  the  English,"  and, 
with  a  very  few  exceptions,  every  sovereign  of  England 
from  that  day  to  this  has  been  a  descendant  of  Egbert. 

England  was  more  nearly  united  than  ever  before. 
More  churches  and  convents  were  built.     These  were 


22  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [9th  Cent 

held  sacred,  and  in  all  the  quarrels  that  had  arisen  among 
w  ith  ^^^  various  kings,  their  property  had  never  been 
the  con-  touched.  Not  only  did  they  have  vessels  of 
gold  and  of  silver,  and  finely  wrought  lamps  and 
censers  swinging  by  golden  chains,  and  jewels  and  em- 
broidered vestments  and  beautiful  tapestries,  and  altars 
covered  with  plates  of  gold  ;  but  they  had,  too,  treasures 
of  quite  another  kind,  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  manu- 
scripts, written  on  parchment  by  the  monks,  for  these 
convents  were  also  schools,  and  every  one  of  them  had 
its  "book-room."  There  the  patient  monks  and  their 
pupils  sat  day  after  day  copying  books,  lefter  by  letter, 
and  painting  ornamental  capitals  in  most  brilliant  colors. 
16.  The  invasions  of  the  Danes.  It  was  chiefly  be- 
cause of  the  riches  of  these  convents  that  trouble  was 
again  to  come  to  England.  The  land  had  been  overrun, 
first  by  Romans,  then  by  Saxons,  and  it  began  to  seem 
now  as  if  foreigners  were  to  sweep  over  it  for  the  third 
time.  These  foreigners  are  usually  spoken  of  as  Danes, 
though  the  name  included  those  who  lived  not  only  in 
Denmark,  but  anywhere  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Baltic  Sea. 
The  Saxons  and  Danes  were  of  the  same  race,  but  while 
the  Saxons  had  become  Christians,  the  Danes  still  wor- 
Character  shipped  the  heathen  gods  ;  and  while  the  Saxons 
of  the  had  learned  to  live  peaceably  on  the  land,  the 

Danes  thought  that  nothing  else  was  half  so 
glorious  as  to  set  out  in  a  little  boat  with  a  company  of 
wild,  reckless  followers,  to  go  wherever  the  waves  and  the 
winds  might  bear  them ;  to  land  upon  any  shore,  no 
matter  where ;  to  destroy,  burn,  kill,  fill  their  l^oats  with 
treasure,  with  slaves,  clothes,  dried  meat,  —  anything  that 
they  could  seize,  —  and  carry  it  all  back  to  Denmark, 
to  show  how  brave  they  had  been.  It  was  a  custom 
among  them  that  one  of  a  man's  sons  should  remain  at 


9th  Cent]      THE    SAXONS    AND    THE    DANES 


23 


home  to  care  for  the  possessions  of  the  family ;  and  the 
others  always  pitied  this  brother,  who  was  d6omed  to 
lose  the  wild  adventure  that  seemed  to  them  the  only 


THE    COMING    OF    THE    DANES 


kind  of  life  worth  having.  They  believed  that  the  man 
who  died  in  peace  would  go  to  the  land  of  the  forgotten, 
but  that  he  who  died  fighting  boldly  in  battle 
would  go  to  a  beautiful  place  called  Valhalla ; 
and  there  he  would  fight  all  day,  be  healed  of  his  wounds 
at  sunset,  and  feast  with  other  heroes  all  night. 

These  were  the  people  who  now  came  down  upon 
England.  The  more  stormy  the  sea  was,  the  better  they 
liked  it.  They  landed  in  the  darkness,  stole  silently  up 
the  rivers,  and,  with  a  wild  cry  to  the  heathen  gods, 
burst  upon  a  convent  or  an  unsuspecting  little  village 
before  the  people  were  fairly  awake.  Some  of  the  victims 
were  killed  at  their  thresholds,  some  even  in  their  beds  : 


24  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [9th  Cent 

and  the  robbers  floated  jubilantly  down  the  stream,  sing- 
ing wild  songs  of  victory,  and  returned  to  Denmark  in 
boats  loaded  to  the  gunwale  with  booty. 

King  Egbert  was  able  to  drive  these  robbers  away,  and 
so  was  his  son  after  him ;  but  in  the  reigns  of  Egbert's 
wretched-  ^^^^  grandsons,  matters  grew  worse  and  worse, 
sessof  for  the  Danes  came  in  great  swarms.  There 
"^  "^  ■  would  be  an  alarm  from  the  east,  and  before 
the  king  could  go  to  the  rescue,  another  alarm  would 
come  from  the  south.  Houses  were  burned,  people  tor- 
tured or  killed  or  taken  to  Denmark  as  slaves.  If  a  man 
planted  a  field  of  grain,  he  had  little  hope  of  being  able 
to  reap  it.  Churches  and  convents  were  pillaged  and 
burned.  Everything  that  was  made  of  gold  or  of  silver 
the  robbers  carried  away.  The  precious  manuscripts 
were  of  no  value  to  them,  and  they  took  special  care  to 
burn  every  one  that  they  could  find,  because  they  be- 
lieved that  the  mysterious  letters  were  magical  signs  that 
would  work  them  harm  if  they  were  not  destroyed. 

17.  Reign  of  Alfred  the  Great.  871-901.  The 
fourth  of  the  grandsons  of  Egbert  was  a  young  man 
named  Alfred,  who  was  only  twenty-two  years  of  age 
when  he  became  king.  He  was  a  great  favorite  among 
his  people,  but  they  were  too  wretched  to  have  any  re- 
joicing when  he  came  to  the  throne.  The  only  change 
was  that  he  led  the  army  alone  instead  of  with  his  brother, 
and  was  called  king  instead  of  prince. 

Faster   and   faster   came  the  Danes.     Alfred  fought 

them  bravely,  but  their  forces  were  too  strong.     The 

whole  land  was  overrun,  and  Alfred  could  no 

Alfred  Is  .  ,        ,  .  Till 

driven  from  longer  remain  on  the  throne.  As  people  looked 
the  throne.  ^^  matters  then,  he  would  not  have  been  blamed 
if  he  had  left  the  kingdom  to  take  care  of  itself  and  had 
gone  to  Rome  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  but  he  had  no  idea 


9th  Cent]     THE   SAXONS    AND    THE    DANES  2$ 

of  abandoning  his  country.  He  withdrew  to  a  swampy 
part  of  England,  and  waited,  training  his  men,  and  plan- 
ning how  to  get  the  better  of  the  enemy. 

There  is  a  story  that  Alfred  once  had  to  take  refuge  in 
the  hut  of  a  herdsman.  The  herdsman's  wife  did  not 
know  who  the  stranger  was,  and  told  him  one  day  to 
watch  the  cakes  that  were  cooking  before  the  fire.  He 
was  so  busy  thinking  that  he  forgot  all  about  the  cakes, 
and  the  woman  said,  angrily,  "  You  are  ready  enough  to 
eat  them,  but  you  are  too  lazy  to  turn  them."  Another 
story  is  that  when  he  wanted  to  know  how  many  men 
were  in  a  Danish  camp,  he  disguised  himself  as  a  minstrel 
and  went  boldly  among  the  Danes.  There  he  played  and 
sang  and  amused  his  enemies  until  he  had  found  out  what 
he  wished  to  know. 

By  and  by,  Alfred  had  gathered  men  enough  to  attack 
the  invaders,  and  then  came  a  fierce  battle.     The  Danes 
were  thoroughly  beaten.     They  agreed  to  re- 
main in  the  northeastern  half  of  England  and  to  oithe 
acknowledge  the  English  king  as  their  overlord.   °^®*" 
The  Danish  word  for  "town  "  is  by^  and  there  are  to-day 
many  more  towns  whose  names  end  in  by  in  northeastern 
England  than  in  the  parts  of  the  island  where  the  English 
lived. 

To  free  his  kingdom  from  these  robbers  would  have 
been  enough  for  one  king  to  do ;  but  Alfred  meant  to 
accomplish  a  great  deal  more.     First  of  all,  he  Alfred's 
built  forts  and  ships,  for  he  did  not  feel  sure  ™^°5. 
that  the  Danes  would  not  come  upon  him  again,   dom. 
Then  he  built  churches  and  convents.     He  sent  to  dif- 
ferent places  where  there  were  learned  men,  and  offered 
them  rich  rewards  if  they  would  come  to  England  and 
teach  his  people.     There  was  great  need  of  their  instruc- 
tion, for  during  the  years  of  trouble  with  the  Danes  no 


26  .  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [9th  Cent. 

one  had  had  any  thought  of  studying.  Even  the  priests, 
when  reading  the  service  of  the  church,  merely  pro- 
nounced the  Latin  words  without  being  able  to  translate 
them  into  English. 

It  was  Alfred's  wish  that  the  young  people  of  his  king- 
dom should  learn  to  read  English,  and  that  those  who 
Alfred  as  a  could  afford  to  study  longer  should  learn  to  read 
translator.  Latin  ;  but  there  were  few  who  could  spare  the 
time  to  study  Latin,  and,  as  far  as  we  know,  there  were 
only  two  or  three  books  written  in  English,  so  this  busy 
king  set  to  work  to  translate  some  Latin  books.  One  of 
them  was  the  "  Ecclesiastical  History "  that  Bede  had 
written  two  hundred  years  earlier.  Another  was  a  kind 
of  history  and  geography  of  the  world.  Alfred  did  more 
than  merely  to  translate  ;  for  he  never  forgot  that  he  was 
working  for  his  people,  and  if  he  came  to  anything  that 
they  would  not  understand,  he  stopped  and  wrote  a 
word  of  explanation.  This  geography  was  five  hundred 
years  old,  and  whenever  Alfred  knew  more  about  a  place 
than  the  author,  he  would  add  his  own  information  ;  for 
instance,  the  geography  describes  Sweden,  but  Alfred 
had  just  talked  with  a  captain  who  had  made  a  voyage  to 
the  North  Cape,  and  he  wrote  the  captain's  story  in  his 
book.  Longfellow's  poem,  "  The  Discoverer  of  the  North 
Cape,"  tells  what  this  captain  related  to  his  king. 

Another  famous  book,  the  "Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle," 
was  begun  in  Alfred's  reign.  It  brought  together  all 
„^   .    ,      that  could  be  learned  of  the  chief  events  that 

The  Anglo- 
Saxon  had   happened   in   England  from   the   earliest 

times,  and  it  is  thought  that  Alfred  himself 
wrote  the  accounts  of  some  of  his  battles.  The  monks 
had  charge  of  the  book,  and  whenever  anything  happened 
in  the  kingdom,  they  wrote  the  story  of  it  in  the  "  Chron- 
icle." This  writing  was  kept  up  for  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  after  Alfred's  death.  ^ 


4     B    Longitude  West     2  of  Greenwicb    C 


9th-iithCent.]  THE  SAXONS  AND  THE  DANES  27 

Alfred  revised  the  laws  of  the  land.  He  was  so  just 
that  when  a  man  was  in  the  right,  he  always  preferred 
to  have  his  case  tried  before  the  king. 

He  wished  to  give  to  God  half  his  money  and  half  his 
time,  but  there  were  no  clocks,  and  how  to  measure  the 
time  was  a  question.    At  last  it  occurred  to  him    .,^  ^ 

P-  ,  Alfred 

to  make  six  candles  that  would  burn  for  four  measures 
hours  each.     Then  he  divided   each   one  into 
twelve  spaces,  and  when  the  candle  had  burned  one  of 
those  spaces,  he  knew  that  twenty  minutes  had  passed. 
To  keep  the  candles  from  draughts,  he  surrounded  them 
with  plates  of  horn,  and  so  made  lanterns. 

King  Alfred  died  in  901.    He  had  saved  his  land  from 
the  Danes,  he  had  given  her  a  just  code  of  laws,  he  had 
begun  the  English  navy,  he  had  built  churches, 
convents,  and   forts,   had  opened  schools  and  Alfred. 

.         .  .  901 

translated  books.     No  other  king  in  the  history 

of  Vhe  world  has  ever  done  so  much  for  his  country.    He 

may  well  be  called  Alfred  the  Great. 

18.  Danish  kings  of  England.  Alfred  left  worthy 
sons  and  grandsons,  but  the  power  of  the  Danes  in- 
creased. In  a  little  more  than  one  hundred  years  after 
his  death,  the  English  king  was  forced  to  flee  to  France 
with  his  wife  Emma  and  his  two  little  boys ;  and  a  Dane 
whose  name  was  Sweyne  sat  on  the  throne  of  England. 
Sweyne  soon  died,  and  his  son  Canute  became  king. 

Canute  exiled  or  killed  the  Englishmen  who  had  any 
claim  to  the  crown  or  who  were  likely  to  oppose  him  ;  but 
after  he  was  safely  on  the  throne,  he  became  Ruie  oi 
a  king  of  whom  the  English  were  very  fond.  O"^**®- 
He  was  kind  and  just ;  he  rewarded  right  and  punished 
wrong ;  and  he  was  willing  to  suffer  when  he  himself 
had  done  wrong.  In  a  sudden  passion  he  killed  a  sol- 
dier, but  instead  of  trying  to  excuse  himself,  he  called 


28  '  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [nth  Cent 

his  troops  together  and  told  them  what  he  had  done. 
Then  he  appointed  judges  and  demanded  that  they 
should  decide  upon  his  punishments  They  were  not  will- 
ing to  do  this,  and  asked  him  to  name  his  own  penalty. 
In  those  days,  killing  a  man  unintentionally  was  punished 
by  a  fine  of  forty  talents  of  silver.  Canute  said  that 
he  should  fine  himself  three  hundred  and  sixty,  and 
should  add  to  this  amount  nine  talents  of  gold. 

Of  course  so  upright  a  king  was  praised  by  all  around, 
and  it  is  a  wonder  that  he  had  any  common  sense  left. 
^     ^  There   is   a  story  that  his  courtiers  told   him 

tbe  sea-  he  was  lord  of  land  and  sea,  and  even  the  waves 
would  obey  him.  To  teach  them  a  lesson,  he 
had  his  royal  chair  placed  on  the  beach  when  the  tide 
was  rising.  Then  the  king  made  a  little  speech  :  "  Ocean," 
said  he,  "  this  is  i^y  island,  and  you,  too,  are  only  a  part 
of  my  domain.  I  command  you  not  to  wet  even  the  bor- 
der of  my  robe." 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  waves,  while  around  the 
king's  chair  stood  the  courtiers,  wondering  what  would 
happen,  and  fearing  lest  their  ruler  should  punish  them 
for  their  untruthfulness.  At  last  a  wave  broke  upon  the 
sacred  person  of  the  king.  Then  he  turned  to  his  cour- 
tiers and  said  gently  :  "  Do  not  forget  that  the  power  of 
kings  is  a  small  matter.  He  who  is  King  of  kings  and 
Lord  of  lords,  he  is  the  one  whom  the  earth  and  the 
sea  and  the  heavens  obey." 

Although  Canute  was  a  Dane,  he  was  very  kind  to  his 
English  subjects,  and  when  he  went  on  a  pilgrimage  to 
0  ute  d  -^^"^^j  ^^  wrote  them  a  pleasant  letter,  telling 
theEng-  them  in  a  friendly,  familiar  way  of  the  great 
personages  whom  he  had  met  in  his  travels, 
and  bidding  his  officers  treat  the  people  fairly,  making  no 
difference  for  wealth  or  rank.     He  seemed  to  prefer  to 


nth  Cent.]     THE   SAXONS  AND  THE  DANES  29 

put  English  rather  than  Danes  into  office.  He  ruled  not 
only  over  the  English  realm  but  also  over  the  Danish, 
and  when  he  went  to  Denmark,  he  left  not  a  Dane,  but 
an  Englishman  to  rule  England  in  his  place.  He  acted 
as  if  he  wished  to  show  all  the  kindness  to  Englishmen 
that  he  could  to  make  up  for  the  injuries  that  his  ances- 
tors had  done  to  the  land.  One  of  his  special  j-aji 
favorites  was  a  young  Englishman  named  God-  CJo^i^ia* 
win.  There  is  a  story  that  while  the  fighting  between 
Danes  and  English  was  still  going  on,  a  brother-in-law  of 
Canute  lost  his  way.  He  met  this  young  lad  and  offered 
him  a  gold  ring  to  lead  him  to  his  Danish  friends. 
"Keep  your  ring,"  said  the  boy  bluntly,  ''until  you 
see  whether  I  can  do  it  or  not.  The  English  hate  the 
Danes,  and  I  may  not  succeed."  He  took  the  man 
home  with  him.  They  mounted  two  horses,  and  after 
riding  all  night,  the  lost  Dane  was  once  more  among  his 
friends.  Afterwards  he  adopted  the  boy  as  his  own 
son.  Canute,  too,  became  very  fond  of  him  and  gave 
him  the  title  of  Earl  of  Wessex ;  and  it  was  this  Earl 
Godwin  whom  he  left  ruler  of  England  when  he  went  to 
visit  Denmark. 

Canute  married  Emma,  widow  of  the  king  who  had 
fled  at  his  coming.     She  left  her  two  boys  in  Normandy 
when   she    returned    to    England,    and    never  Canute's 
seemed  to  care  anything  for  them.  '^"®' 

When  Canute  died,  every  one  was  sorry,  especially  as 
his  sons  were  not  worthy  of  so  good  a  father.  They 
reigned,  however,  for  a  few  years,  first  one  son  Canute's 
and  then  the  other,  but  the  English  were  more  "°"'" 
and  more  displeased  with  their  injustice  and  cruelty,  and 
when  they  died,  no  one  mourned.  They  were  the  last 
kings  that  ruled  over  both  England  and  Denmark. 

19.  Edward  the  Confessor.     The  English   began  to 


30  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [nth  Cent. 

wish  to  have  an  Englishman  again  on  the  throne,  and 
they  chose  Edward,  son  of  Emma  and  the  king  who  had 
fled  to  Normandy.  This  Edward  was  a  middle-aged 
man,  and,  since  he  had  lived  in  France  from  his  boyhood, 
it  is  probable  that  he  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English ; 
but,  as  he  was  a  good  man  and  a  descendant  of  the  royal 
line,  the  English  invited  him  to  be  their  king,  and  when 
he  came  to  them,  they  gave  him  a  hearty  welcome. 


SUMMARY 

At  the  request  of  the  Britons,  the  Saxons  drove  away  the 
barbarians  of  the  north.  Soon  they  killed  or  expelled  the 
Britons  also  and  seized  the  land  for  themselves.  They  finally 
accepted  Christianity,  but  the  rapid  spread  of  civilization  was 
arrested  by  the  ravages  of  the  Danes.  Alfred  the  Great 
restored  the  land  to  peace  and  safety,  but  after  his  death  the 
Danish  power  increased  so  that  for  a  time  England  was  ruled 
by  Danish  kings. 

The  Saxons  probably  brought  the  poem  of  "  Beowulf  "  from 
the  continent.  The  first  literature  composed  on  English  soil 
was  the  work  of  Caedmon,  Bade,  and  Alfred  the  Great. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   NORMANS 
1066-1154 

I.  William  the  Conqueror.     1066-1087 

20.  Edward's  plan  to  bequeath  his  crown.  Edward 
was  so  good  a  man  that  people  called  him  "the  Con- 
fessor," and  many  of  them  believed  that  any  one  suffer- 
ing with  scrofula  would  be  cured  at  once  if  he  could  only 
touch  the  hand  of  the  sovereign.  Edward  seemed  to  think 
that  a  king  could  leave  his  crown  to  any  one  that  he 
chose.  He  had  a  young  kinsman  across  the  water,  one 
William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  from  whose  father  and 
grandfather  he  had  received  much  kindness ;  and  once 
when  the  young  man  came  to  pay  a  visit  to  England, 
the  English  king  had  promised  to  bequeath  him  the 
kingdom. 

The  only  man  in  England  that  was  powerful  enough 
to  dispute  this  claim  was  Harold,  son  of  Earl  Godwin. 
It  came  to  pass  that  Harold  was  wrecked  on  Harold's 
the  Norman  coast,  and  so  fell  into  William's  shipwreck, 
hands.  The  duke  treated  him  as  an  honored  guest, 
but  asked  him  to  swear  on  the  bones  of  one  of  the 
saints  that  he  would  help  him  to  become  king  of  Eng- 
land at  Edward's  death.  Earl  Harold  was  sure  that  if 
he  refused  he  would  be  thrown  into  the  dungeon  of  the 
castle  and  kept  there  till  he  died.  Then,  too,  people 
thought  that  it  was  not  a  very  great  sin  to  break  an  oath 


32 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1042- I 066 


sworn  on  the  relics  of  one  of  the  lesser  saints,  since  a  man 
could  give  generous  offerings  to  the  shrines  of  other  and 
greater  saints  to  make  up  for  it.  Harold  took  the  oath. 
Then  the  embroidered  cloth  on  which  the  bones  lay  was 
lifted,  and  the  earl  was  horrified  to  find  that  under  it 
were  the  relics  of  the  greatest  saints  of  Normandy,  and 


HAROLD   SWEARS   ON   THE    RELICS,  FROM    THE    BAYEUX     TAPESTRY 

William  sitting  in  state  to  the  left:  Harold  between  the  reliquary  which  contains  the 
holy  relics,  and  the  altar,  taking  oath. 

that  upon  these  he  had  sworn.'  He  returned  to  England, 
and  for  many  years  he  was  a  greater  power  than  the 
king. 

Edward  came  to  see  that  a  king  of  England  could  not 
give  away  his  crown,  especially  to  a  foreigner ;  and  when 
Harold  be-  ^^  died,  he  recommended  the  people  to  choose 
comes  king.  Harold  for  their  sovereign,  since  the  only  living 
son  of  the  royal  family  was  a  boy  too  young  to  rule.  The 
earl  had  decided  that  an  oath  not  taken  of  his  own  free 
will  was  no  oath  at  all,  and  he  accepted  the  crown. 

21.  William  of  Normandy  makes  ready  to  invade 
England.     When  Duke  William  heard  of  this,  he  was 


io66] 


THE   NORMANS 


33 


very  indignant.  He  collected  a  great  force  of  men  and 
ships,  off  the  coast  of  Normandy,  and  there  he  waited 
week  after  week  for  the  south  wind  that  should  blow 
them  across  the  English  Channel  to  the  shores  of  Eng- 
land. At  last  the  favorable  breeze  came,  but  just  as 
they  were  ready  to  set  sail,  a  strange  warship,  much 
larger  and  finer  than  the  others,  came  into  the  harbor. 
At  the  prow  was  the  gilded  figure  of  a  boy  pointing  for- 
ward with  one  hand  and  holding  an  ivory  horn  to  his 
lips  with  the  other.  The  ship  came  nearer,  and  on  board 
was  the  duke's  wife,  the  Duchess  Matilda,  for  she  had 
had  the  beautiful  vessel  built  secretly  as  a  gift  to  her 
husband.  She  named  it  the  Mora,  or  the  Delay, 
because  he  had  been  so  long  delayed  while  wait- 
ing for  the  wind.     William  took  the  Mora  for  his  flagship. 


The  Mora. 


WILLIAM   SAILS   TO   ENGLAND,  FROM    THE     BAYEUX     TAPESTRY 


and  high  up  on  the  masthead  he  unfurled  the  banner  that 
the  Pope  had  blessed  and  sent  him  long  before  to  be  used 
in  this  expedition. 

The  fleet  sailed.     There  were  several  hundred  ships 


34  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1066 

besides  many  transports,  but  it  is  probable  that  none  of 
them  could  carry  more  than  forty  or  fifty  men. 
The  voyage,  j^^^^^  ^j^^  gunwales  the  shields  of  the  soldiers 
were  arranged,  and  these  kept  off  some  of  the  spray ; 
but  there  were  no  decks,  and  the  ships  must  have  been 
wet,  uncomfortable  places.  Nevertheless,  they  carried 
horses  as  well  as  men,  quantities  of  arms  and  provisions, 
and  timber  already  cut  and  shaped  to  be  made  into  a 
wooden  fort. 

22.  'William  lands  in  England.  The  next  day  after 
William  sailed,  he  landed  on  the  coast  of  England  at 
Pevensey,  not  far  from  Hastings.  He  leaped  ashore  so 
eagerly  that  he  fell  headlong.  The  soldiers  were  fright- 
ened, because  they  believed  that  this  fall  was  a  bad 
omen  ;  but  the  duke  was  too  quick-witted  to  be  taken 
aback  so  easily.  It  was  a  custom  among  the  Normans 
in  granting  a  man  land  to  give  him  a  twig  and  a  bit  of 
turf  to  signify  that  the  land  was  his.  This  gift 
was  called  "  seizin,"  and  William  clutched  a 
handful  of  turf,  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  shouted :  "  No 
bad  omen  is  this  ;  I  am  only  taking  seizin  of  the  land 
that  is  rightfully  my  own." 

Not  a  ship  had  been  on  the  sea  to  prevent  their  com- 
ing, not  a  soldier  was  on  the  coast  to  oppose  their  land- 
Theiaokof  ^^S-  One  reason  was  that  Harold's  fleet  was 
opposition,  made  up  chiefly  of  fishing  vessels,  and  his  army 
was  made  up  chiefly  of  men  who  were  not  only  soldiers 
but  farmers.  When  these  people  had  served  a  certain 
length  of  time,  they  were  allowed  to  go  home  that  the 
fishermen  might  attend  to  their  fishing  and  the  farmers 
to  their  farming ;  and  they  could  not  be  brought  together 
again  without  some  delay.  In  the  standing  army  there 
were  only  a  few  men,  and  Harold  had  been  obliged  to 
call  these  to  the  north  of  England  to  repel  an  invasion  of 


io66] 


THE   NORMANS 


35 


the  Danes,  headed  by  one  of  his  own  brothers,  who  hoped 
to  win  the  kingdom  for  himself.  Harold  hastened  to  the 
south,  but  before  he  could  reach  London,  William  had 
landed,  had  put  up  his  fort,  and  had  begun  to  pillage  the 
country  in  all  directions. 

23.  Battle  of  Senlac,  or  Hastings,  1066.  Then 
came  the  great  battle  of  Senlac,  or  Hastings,  October 
14,  1066.  Harold  had  arranged  his  soldiers  on  the  hill- 
side behind  a  barricade  of  wooden  stakes,  firmly  bound 
together  and  strengthened  with  wattles,  or  pliant  twigs. 
Some  of  his  men  were  well  armed  and  protected  by  coats 
of  mail,  but  many  had  no  armor  and  only  such  weapons  as 


BATTLE   OF   SENLAC,   FROM    THE     BAYEUX     TAPESTRY 
Normans  on  horseback,  Saxons  on  foot. 

each  one  could  find  for  himself.  Early  in  the  morning 
the  fighting  began.  Hour  after  hour  the  battle  went  on. 
The  Normans  charged  up  the  hill  again  and  again,  but  the 
English  repulsed  their  attacks.  Then  William  ordered 
his  men  to  shoot  up  into  the  air  so  that  the  arrows  would 
fall  upon  the  English.  Many  were  slain,  and  Harold 
himself  was  struck  in  the  eye. 


36  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1066 

t 

The  Normans  had  better  arms  and  better  military 
training,  but  the  English  had  the  better  position.  It 
Norman  began  to  be  clear  to  William  that  strategy  as 
strategy.  ^g^  ^s  valor  was  needed  to  win  the  victory. 
Before  the  battle  began,  Harold  had  said  to  his  men, 
"We  are  not  the  invaders,  we  are  here  to  defend  the 
land.  Let  no  man  go  forth  to  make  an  attack,  but  let 
each  one  stand  firm  in  his  place  and  strike  down  every 
Frenchman  that  comes  within  his  reach."  If  this  order 
had  been  obeyed,  it  is  probable  that  the  English  would 
have  won  the  day  ;  but  when  the  Normans  pretended  to 
retreat,  some  of  the  English  forgot  that  a  soldier  must 
be  obedient  as  well  as  brave,  and  dashed  after  their  foes. 
Suddenly  the  Normans  turned  and  cut  down  their  pur- 
suers. The  barricade  had  been  broken  through.  Night- 
fall came,  Harold  had  been  slain,  and  William  had  con- 
quered.^ 

24.  William's  election.  William  was  wise  enough 
not  to  claim  to  be  king  just  because  he  had  won  this  bat- 
tle. He  called  together  the  assembly  of  the  chief  men 
of  England  and  asked  if  they  would  choose  him  as  their 
ruler.  Whether  they  wished  to  do  so  or  not,  they  were 
not  strong  enough  to  refuse.  He  was  appointed  king, 
and  on  Christmas  Day  a  most  brilliant  assemblage  of 
English  and  Normans  met  in  Westminster  Abbey,  which 
Edward  the  Confessor  had  built  and  where  he  was  buried, 
and  there  they  crowned  William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  as 
king  of  England. 

26.  The  Bayeux  tapestry.  In  the  town  of  Bayeux 
in  France  is  a  piece  of  embroidery  called  the  Bayeux 
tapestry.  It  is  a  strip  of  linen  about  two  feet  wide  and 
seventy  yards  long.  It  is  possible  that  Matilda,  wife  of 
King  William,  embroidered  this  with  the  aid  of  the  ladies 
1  The  order  of  events  as  given  by  Creasy  is  followed. 


THE   NORMANS 


37 


nth  Cent.] 

of  her  court.  It  tells  in  Latin  inscriptions  and  in  pictures 
worked  in  worsted  cross-stitch  the  whole  story  of  the  con- 
quest, from  Harold's  coming  to  Normandy  to  the  battle 
of  Senlac.  The  pictures  are  such  as  a  little  child  would 
draw,  but  it  was  probably  looked  upon  as  a  wonderful 
piece  of  work. 

26.  Feudalism.     In    those   days   people   believed   in 
feudalism,  that   is,  they  thought  that  all  the  land  of  a 


WESTMINSTER   ABBEY   IN    THE   DAYS   OF  EDWARD   THE   CONFESSOR,   AS 
REPRESENTED   ON   THE   BAYEUX   TAPESTRY 


country  belonged  to  the  king,  and  that  he  had  a  right  to 
give  it  to.  any  one  that  he  chose.  The  one  who  received 
it  was  required  to  pay  a  certain  amount  of  money  and  to 
provide  a  certain  number  of  soldiers  to  serve  so  many 
days  every  year.  Bareheaded  and  without  weapons  he 
must  kneel  before  the  king,  and  placing  his  folded  hands 
within  those  of  his  feudal  chief,  he  must  solemnly  swear : 
"  I  will  be  your  man  with  life  and  limb,  and  I  will  keep 
my  faith  and  loyalty  to  you  for  life  and  death."  Then 
the  king  would  give  him  a  formal  kiss  of  acceptance. 


38  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1066-1087 

Each  one .  of  those  who  swore  loyalty  to  the  king  in  this 
way  had  a  number  of  men  who  swore  in  similar  fashion 
to  him,  and  if  one  proved  to  be  unfaithful,  his  land  was 
taken  away  and  given  to  some  one  else. 

Many  of  the  English  promised  to  be  true  to  William, 
paid  a  fine,  and  received  their  land  again  from  him ;  but 
The  Eng-  there  were  others  who  did  not,  and  their  holdings 
iish  lands.  fgH  i^to  the  hands  of  the  king.  He  could,  of 
course,  claim  the  lands  of  those  that  had  fought  at  Senlac, 
and  these  forfeitures  gave  him  vast  areas  to  distribute 
among  the  French  who  had  come  with  him  and  had  helped 
to  conquer  the  country.  He  was  very  shrewd  in  this  dis-^ 
tribution,  however,  and  with  the  exception  of  his  half- 
brother  Robert,  there  was  not  one  of  all  his  barons  whom 
he  would  trust  with  much  land  in  any  one  district,  lest 
they  should  become  strong  enough  to  rebel  against  him. 

27.  William's  keenness.  He  was  mercilessly  severe 
to  those  who  opposed  him,  but  for  those  who  were  true 
to  him  he  thought  no  rewards  too  great.  Even  the 
"Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle"  says  that  he  was  a  just  man. 
He  always  seemed  to  know  exactly  what  to  do  in  difficult 
circumstances ;  for  instance,  the  Enghsh  in  their  anger 
and  despair  assassinated  many  Normans,  and  then 
made  their  bodies  appear  like  those  of  Saxons.  William 
straightway  made  a  law  that  any  dead  body  found  in  the 
woods  should  be  regarded  as  that  of  a  Norman,  unless 
two  English  men  and  two  English  women  would  swear 
that  it  was  the  body  of  a  near  relative  of  theirs.  If 
four  such  witnesses  could  not  be  found,  the  whole  dis- 
trict had  to  pay  a  large  sum  of  money  as  penalty  for  the 
murder  of  a  Norman. 

Another  decision  that  showed  William's  quickness  of 
thought  was  in  the  case  of  his  half-brother  Odo,  a  bishop 
whom  he  had  made  Earl  of  Kent.     When  the  king  went 


1066-1087]  THE   NORMANS  39 

to  visit  his  domain  in  Normandy,  the  English  people  were 
left  in  the  power  of  Odo,  and  were  treated  so  harshly 
that,  when  William  returned,  he  was  very  angry,  and 
arrested  his  brother.  The  bishop  protested,  and  said 
that  a  clergyman  was  free  from  all  penalties  except  those 
imposed  by  the  church ;  but  William  would  not  yield. 
"  Bishop  and  brother  I  would  gladly  let  go,"  said  he  ; 
"  but  the  Earl  of  Kent,  who  has  abused  my  people,  he 
goes  into  my  prison,"  —  and  into  the  prison  he  went. 

28.  English  grievances.  While  the  English  admitted 
that  William  was  just,  and  that  he  gave  peace  to  the 
land,  he  did  several  things  that  seemed  to  them  most 
tyrannical.  Even  in  Edward's  reign  many  of  the  chief 
offices  in  church  and  state  had  been  held  by  French- 
men, and  now  under  William  there  was  hardly  an  English- 
man in  a  high  position  anywhere  in  the  land,  jromans  in 
This  was  very  hard  to  bear,  especially  as  the  °"**'®' 
Norman  masters  often  looked  upon  the  English  as  their 
inferiors  and  treated  them  cruelly  and  insolently;  but 
there  is  something  to  be  said  on  William's  side,  for  a 
king  would  naturally  prefer  to  have  as  his  officers  men  of 
his  own  nation  who  could  talk  with  him  in  his  own  lan- 
guage. There  is  a  tradition  that  he  tried  to  learn  to  speak 
English,  but  found  it  easier  to  conquer  the  land  than  to 
learn  the  language. 

These  Normans  who  were  in  power  were  allowed  to 
build  stone  castles  with  walls  enormously  thick,  so  that 
they  might  be  safe  against  any  revolt  of  the  jrorman 
natives.  The  strongest  part  of  these  castles  casues. 
was  called  the  tower,  or  keep,  and  here  the  Norman  and 
his  family  lived.  On  the  main  floor  was  the  hall,  or  gen- 
eral living  room.  The  windows  were  small,  and  the 
castle  was  often  a  cold,  damp  place,  but  in  the  hall  there 
were  great  cheery  fires,  there  was  tapestry  on  the  walls, 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1066-1087 
very   comfortable.       Down 


40 

and  here  the  family  were 
below  the  hall  were  gloomy  dungeons,  where  a  noble 
might  throw  any  one  who  had  offended  him  and  was  less 
strong  than  he.     Around  the  tower  was  a  courtyard,  shut 


A   NORMAN   CASTLE   KEEP,   ROCHESTER   CASTLE  1 

in  by  a  thick  wall  with  a  moat  and  drawbridge,  and  a 
The  Tower  heavy  portcullis  that  could  be  dropped  in  a  mo- 
of  London,     nient  if  there  was  not  time  to  close  the  gate. 

*  This  is  called  by  Professor  Freeman  the  noblest  example 
of  Norman  military  architecture  of  the  next  generation  after 
William  I. 


io66-io87]  THE    NORMANS  41 

William  had  these  castles  built  in  the  principal  cities,  and 
the  Tower  of  London  is  one  of  them. 

There  were  three  of  William's  laws  that  made  the 
English  especially  angry.  One  was  called  the  curfew 
law.  The  name  comes  from  the  French  couvre-  The  curfew 
feuy  to  cover  the  fire,  and  the  law  decreed  that  ^*^- 
at  a  certain  hour  in  the  evening  every  fire  should  be 
covered  and  every  light  put  out.  This  was  an  old  custom 
in  France  to  prevent  the  burning  of  houses,  but  it  was 
new  to  the  English,  and  they  felt  that  it  was  nothing  but 
tyranny. 

Another  thing  that  made  them  angry  was  the  estab- 
lishing of  the  New  Forest,  as  it  was  called.  For  this, 
William  cleared  a  tract  of  sixty  thousand  acres 
not  far  from  his  palace  in  Winchester,  burning 
the  houses  and  leaving  the  people  to  find  homes  as  best 
they  could.  For  whatever  reason  he  may  have  done 
it,  the  English  felt  sure  that  it  was  because  of  his  wish 
to  have  a  good  hunting  ground  near  his  home  ;  and  they 
were  the  more  convinced  that  they  were  right  when  he 
decreed  most  severe  penalties  if  a  man  shot  a  deer  in 
the  Forest,  or  even  if  he  was  found  there  with  a  bow  and 
arrow.  "Evil  will  come  to  him  and  his,"  they  said,  "for 
this  wicked  thing  that  he  has  done ; "  and  when  one  of 
his  sons  was  killed  by  a  stag  in  the  New  Forest,  they 
shook  their  heads  and  said,  "  That  is  not  all ;  it  is  only 
the  beginning  of  the  punishment." 

But,  after  all,  the  act  that  most  enraged  the  helpless 
English  was  the  making  of  a  record  of  people  and  pro- 
perty in  order  to  know  the  wealth  of  the  king-  Domesday 
dom  and  how  to  apportion  the  taxes.  The  ^°°^- 
people  called  it  the  Domesday  Book,  because,  they  said, 
what  was  once  written  in  it  was  as  final  as  the  day  of 
doom.     To  compile  this,  William  sent  men  all  over  the 


42  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1066-1087 

kingdom  to  find  out  just  how  much  property  there  was 
in  every  corner  of  it.  The  people  were  indignant,  not 
only  because  they  thought  that  their  taxes  might  be  in- 
creased if  William  knew  everything  that  they  owned,  but 
also  because  it  seemed  to  them  a  great  impertinence  for 
the  officers  of  the  king  to  come  into  their  houses  and 
demand  to  know  just  what  they  possessed.  The  *' Anglo<. 
Saxon  Chronicle  "  says  bitterly  :  — 

**  It  is  shameful  to  relate  that  which  he  thought  it  no 
shame  to  do.  So  very  narrowly  did  he  cause  the  survey 
to  be  made  that  there  was  not  an  ox  or  a  cow  or  a  pig 
passed  by,  that  was  not  set  down  in  the  accounts,  and 
then  all  these  writings  were  brought  to  him." 

29.  William's  death.  1087.  In  spite  of  all  the  in- 
dignation, the  survey  went  on,  as  did  whatever  else  this 
strong  king  undertook.  For  twenty-one  years  he  reigned, 
and  then  came  the  end.  His  eldest  son  Robert  had 
rebelled  against  him,  and  given  him  a  great  deal  of 
trouble,  but  William  left  him  the  French  dominions. 
"I  pity  the  land  that  he  rules,"  said  the  father,  "but  I 
have  promised  him  Normandy,  and  he  must  have  it." 
To  Henry,  the  youngest  son,  he  left  five  thousand  pounds 
in  silver  ;  and  in  behalf  of  William  Rufus,  or  William  the 
Red,  the  second  son,  he  sent  a  recommendation  to  the 
English  that  they  should  choose  him  for  their  king. 

SUMMARY 

In  1066,  William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  a  relative  of  the 
late  Saxon  king,  won  the  crown  by  a  battle  in  which  Harold, 
the  king  chosen  by  the  English,  was  slain.  William  rewarded 
his  followers  with  English  lands  and  English  offices.  The 
building  of  stone  castles  began.  Several  of  William's  laws 
aroused  the  indignation  of  his  new  subjects,  but  the  "  Chron- 
icle "  admits  that  he  was  just,  though  severe. 


io66-iioo]  THE   NORMANS  43 

The  conquest  brought  to  England  the  impulse  of  the  bold 
Norman  spirit,  the  greater  refinement  of  the  French  language, 
and  a  strong  government  which  gave  peace  to  the  land  and 
did  much  to  make  a  united  nation. 

2.    William   Rufus.     1087-1100 

30.  William  Rufus  becomes  king.  When  William 
the  Conqueror  lay  on  his  death-bed,  there  were  only 
strangers  around  him.  His  wife  had  died  several  years 
before;  his  oldest  son  Robert  was  at  the  court  of  the 
French  king,  a  man  who  had  often  led  him  into  revolt 
and  mischief  ;  his  youngest  son,  Henry,  had  hastened 
away  to  secure  the  five  thousand  pounds  of  silver,  and  to 
see  that  it  was  shut  up  in  a  safe  place;  and  William 
Rufus  had  gone  as  fast  as  a  boat  would  carry  him  to 
Winchester  in  England,  where  the  royal  treasures  were 
kept. 

He  got  possession  of  the  gold  and  silver,  but  that  alone 
would  not  make  him  a  king,  and  it  seemed  at  first  quite 
possible  that  he  would  never  sit  on  the  throne.  The 
reason  was  that  there  were  two  parties  in  the  land,  almost 
equally  strong.  One  party,  the  Norman  lords,  Nomans 
wished  to  have  Robert  for  their  ruler,  because  ^s-BngUsh. 
they  held  land  in  both  England  and  Normandy,  and  with 
their  haughty  independence  they  thought  that  while  one 
king  was  bad  enough,  two  wotild  be  unendurable.  The 
other  party  was  made  up  chiefly  of  English  people,  and 
they  felt  that  the  less  their  king  had  to  do  with  Nor- 
mandy, the  better. 

The  two  parties  were  of  almost  equal  strength,  but 
there  was  a  third  power,  and  that  was  the  church.     The 
archbishop  of  Canterbury  was  a  very  wise  man,  power  of 
and  he  saw  clearly  that  it  was  better  not  only  *^®  chmcii. 
for  an  English  king  to  rule  over  no  other  country,  but 


44 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[i  087-1100 


for  him  who  was  the  choice  of  the  English  people  to 
become  kihg  of  England.  Therefore,  the  whole  influ- 
ence of  the  clergy  was  in  favor  of  William,  and  he  was 
crowned. 

31.  William  Rufus's  greed  for  money.     He  ought  to 
have  been  grateful  to  the  church  for  her  support,  but 

his     only     thought 


seemed  to  be  how 
to  get  possession  of 
her  wealth.  He  not 
only  seized  upon 
church  property, 
but,  what  was  much 
wor^e,  he  gave  her 
abbacies  and  bish- 
oprics to  any  man 
who  would  pay  him 
well.  If  no  one 
offered  him  a  large 
amount  for  a  posi- 
tion, he  simply  left 
it  vacant  and  took 
the  income  for  him- 
self. Perhaps  the 
only  good  thing  that 
he  did  for  the  church 
was  to  give  her  a 
good  archbishop.  The  archbishop  of  Canterbury  had 
died,  and  William  in  his  usual  fashion  had  left  the  office 
vacant  so  that  he  might  have  the  income ;  but  it  came 
to  pass  that  the  king  was  very  ill,  and  greatly  frightened 
lest  he  should  die  and  be  punished  for  the  wrong  that 
he  had  done.  He  claimed  to  be  exceedingly  penitent, 
and  asked  what  he  should  do  to  prove  his  repentance. 


NORMAN   SOLDIERS 


I087-IIOO]  THE   NORMANS  45 

"Make  Anselm  archbishop  of  Canterbury,"  was  the 
reply.     This  was  done,  but  William's  penitence  vanished 

with    his  illAess,  and  he  was  so  indignant  at 

Anselm. 
having  been  induced  to  give  up  the  great  rev- 
enues of  Canterbury  that  he  opposed  Anselm  in  every- 
thing that  he  undertook ;  and  finally  the  good  archbishop 
left  the  country  in  utter  despair,  and  did  not  return  until 
the  king  was  dead.  In  this  frenzy  for  money,  thieves 
and  murderers  were  willingly  set  free  if  they  could  only 
offer  a  bribe  large  enough  to  influence  the  king.  There 
is  a  story  that  the  son  of  a  rich  Jew  had  become  a  Chris- 
tian. The  father  said  to  himself :  "  If  the  king  should 
ask  him  to  return  to  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  he  would 
surely  yield  ; "  so  he  went  to  the  king  and  gave  him  a 
large  amount  of  money  to  ask  the  son  to  give  up  Chris- 
tianity. 

The  young  man  would  not  give  up  his  new  belief  even 
for  his  sovereign,  and  the  father  said  to  William  Rufus  : 
"  Sire,  my  son  refuses  to  obey  the  word  of  the  great  king. 
Therefore,  I  pray  you,  give  me  back  my  money." 

Then'  said  the  king :  "  And  am  I  to  have  no  pay  for 
my  efforts .?  The  words  of  a  king  are  golden  and  de- 
mand golden  payment.  I  could  fairly  keep  the  whole 
sum,  but  in  my  generosity  I  will  keep  but  half,"  and  half 
he  kept. 

32.  "Why  Williani  Rufus  wanted  money.  Besides 
his  reckless  extravagance,  there  were  two  reasons  why 
William  Rufus  was  so  eager  to  have  money  that  he  was 
ready  to  starve  the  poor  people,  cheat  the  men  of  wealth, 
and  force  the  churches  to  give  up  even  their  gold  and 
silver  dishes  and  ornaments.  One  was  that  he  was  so 
afraid  of  revolts  that  he  kept  a  great  many  soldiers  ready 
to  fight  for  him  at  any  moment ;  and  th-e  other  was  that 
he  had  never  really  given  up  getting  Normandy  into  his 


46  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1087-1100 

hands.  Perhaps  the  only  reason  why  there  was  not  a 
revolt  was  that  when  the  English  people  began  to  find 
William  unendurable,  the  French  barons  Wbuld  look  to- 
ward Robert ;  and  as  soon  as  the  barons  began  to  seem 
determined  to  have  Robert  for  a  king,  the  English  would 
support  William  as  the  less  of  two  evils.  Neither  party 
was  satisfied  with  such  a  condition  of  affairs ;  but  it  was 
beginning  to  be  clear  that  in  England,  at  any  rate,  a  king 
and  his  proud  barons  could  not  rule  the  country  quite  as 
they  chose  without  paying  any  heed  to  the  wishes  of  the 
people. 

William  still  hoped  to  get  possession  of  Normandy. 
Robert  was  careless  and  lavish,  and  once  when  he  wanted 
William  money,  he  had  willingly  sold  a  strip  of  Norman 
Ruius  territory  to  his  brother.    Finally  Robert  wished 

revenues  oi  to  go  on  a  crusade.     The  sale  of  a  part  of  his 
Normandy.    ^^^^  ^^^j^  ^^^  Suffice,  and,  in  order  to  get  the  . 
ten  thousand  pounds  that  was  needed,  he  promised  to 
William  all  the  revenues  of  Normandy  for  the  next  five 
years. 

33.  Crusades.  The  crusades  were  expeditions  under- 
taken by  various  Christian  nations  against  the  Turks  who 
ruled  in  the  Holy  Land.  It  had  long  been  regarded  as 
a  deed  of  great  merit  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome, 
and  even  greater  to  press  on  to  Jerusalem.  People  be- 
lieved that  no  matter  how  wicked  they  had  been,  their 
sins  would  all  be  forgiven  if  they  made  this  journey. 
Some  even  laid  aside  the  clothes  that  they  wore  when 
they  entered-  Jerusalem,  expecting  to  go  straight  to 
heaven  if  they  were  buried  in  these  garments. 

Aside  from  the  religious   benefits   that   people   who 

became  pilgrims  thought  they  should  obtain, 

of  the  there  was  a  great  fascination  about  such  a  jour- 

oumey.       ^^^    ^^^  travellers  would  see  strange  countries 


io87-iioo] 


THE   NORMANS 


47 


and  meet  with  strange  people.  There  would  be  many 
opportunities  to  win  glory  and  its  rewards,  and  the 
thought  of  possible  dangers  only  added  to  the  charm  ot 
the  pilgrimage.  It  is  no  wonder  that  rich  and  poor, 
good  and  bad,  were  eager  to  go  on  these  wonderful  expe- 
ditions. 

While  the  Arabs  ruled  the  Holy  Land,  pilgrims  were 
protected  and  welcomed  because  they  brought  so  much 
money  to  Jerusalem ;  but  at  last  the 
Turks  became  rulers,  and  they  impris- 
oned the  pilgrims  and  tortured  them, 
or  even  murdered  them.      In   1095, 


a  Frenchman,  called  Peter 


Peter  the 


the  Hermit,  returned  from  a  Hermit, 
pilgrimage.  He  was  an  eloquent  man, 
and  when  he  told  how  much  the  pil- 
grims had  to  suffer  and  how  wicked 
he  thought  it  that  the  Holy  Land 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  men  who 
hated  the  Christians,  thousands  of 
people  resolved  to  try  to  take  Pales- 
tine from  the  power  of  the  Turks. 
They  called  such  an  expedition  a  cru- 
sade, because  a  red  cross  was  fas- 
/  tened  to  their  clothes,  and  the  Latin 
word  for  cross  is  crux. 

For  a  duke  Hke  Robert  to  go  on 
a  crusade  meant  more  than  putting 
on  his  armor,  mountins:  his  ^  ^  _ 
horse,  and  gallopmg  away.   i)ecomesa 
There  must  be  arms  and  horses  and  provisions,   ""*****'• 
not  only  for  himself,  but  for  the  servants  and  dependents 
who  went  with  him.   There  must  be  money  for  countless 
expenses  along  the  way,  for  alms-giving  and  for  generous 


robert  duke  of  nor 
mandy,  a  crusader, 
from  his  effigy  in 

.  gloucester  cathe- 
dTTal. 

The  figure  is  clad  in  chain 
;  mail,  and  the  crossed  legs 
K  indicate  the  Crusader. 


48  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1087-1100 

presents  to  churches  and  shrines.  One  may  well  see 
that  a  duke  might  need  to  pawn  his  duchy  for  such  an 
expedition.  Robert  went  on  a  crusade  in  1095,  and  for 
five  years  William  Rufus  gathered  in  the  taxes  of  Nor- 
mandy. 

34.  Death  of  WiUiam  Rufus.  In  the  year  1 100  there 
was  a  bright  August  morning  when  William  seemed 
depressed  and  gloomy.  Some  one  told  him  a  priest  had 
dreamed  that  the  king  strode  into  the  church  and  in- 
sulted the  cross. 

"  What  then  .? "  asked  William,  trying  to  conceal  his 
misgivings. 

"  Pardon,  King  William,  but  the  dream  was  that  He 
who  hangs  on  the  cross  struck  down  him  who  had 
mocked." 

"  That 's  the  vision  of  a  priest,"  said  the  king  scorn- 
fully. "  Here,  give  him  one  hundred  shillings,  and  he 
will  have  better  dreams." 

After  dinner  he  rode  in  the  fated  Forest.  An  arrow 
shot  by  some  unknown  hand  pierced  his  heart,  and  he 
fell  dead.  Late  that  afternoon  a  charcoal  burner  ca,me 
upon  the  king  lying  on  the  ground  with  the  arrow  yet  in 
his  breast.  The  peasant  lifted  the  body  into  his  rude 
cart,  and  the  next  day  it  was  buried  in  the  cathedral  at 
Winchester. 

Not  many  months  before  the  death  of  William  Rufus, 
Duke  Robert's  son  Richard  had  been  killed  by  an  arrow 
in  the  New  Forest,  and  now  the  country  people  would 
go  to  the  place  where  William's  body  had  been  found 
and  look  at  the  ground  in  silence ;  then  some  one  among 
them  would  say :  "  When  one  has  done  evil,  then  will 
evil  come  to  him  and  to  his  children  and  to  his  children's 
children." 


/087-IIOO]  THE   NORMANS  49 

SUMMARY 

William  Rufus  became  king  and  was  supported  by  the  Eng- 
lish and  the  clergy,  though  opposed  by  the  barons.  Fearing 
revolts^  he  plundered  the  church  and  oppressed  the  people  in 
order  to  maintain  a  large  standing  army.  He  advanced 
money  for  Duke  Robert's  crusade,  and  received  in  return  the 
taxes  of  Normandy  for  five  years.  He  was  murdered  in  the 
New  Forest. 

3.  Henry  Beaik:lerc.     1100-1135 

35.  Henry  I.  becomes  king.  It  was  a  general  reeling 
in  those  days  that  v^hen  a  king  died,  the  laws  that  he 
had  made  were  no  longer  in  force,  and  that  until  a  new 
king  was  in  power,  people  might  avenge  old  wrongs, 
steal,  or  even  murder,  without  much"  fear  of  punishment. 
When  William  the  Conqueror  died,  his  sons  were  away, 
trying  to  secure  their  treasures;  the  attend-  a  lawless 
ants  and  the  nobles  seized  everything  that  they  ^*^*' 
could  lay  their  hands  upon,  and  the  funeral  expenses  of 
the  king  were  actually  paid  by  a  kind-hearted  knight. 

When  William  Rufus  was  shot  in  the  New  Forest,  his 
brother  Henry,  who  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  hunt- 
ing party,  galloped  away  to  Winchester  as  fast  as  his 
horse  could  carry  him,  for  in  Winchester  was  the  store- 
house of  the  royal  treasures,  and  he  meant  to  get  pos- 
session of  them.  There  was  another  man,  however,  who 
galloped  just  as  fast,  and  that  was  the  keeper  of  the  trea- 
sury. When  Henry  demanded  the  keys,  the  treasurer 
said:  "Prince  Henry,  you  have  paid  homage  to  your 
brother  Robert  and  so  have  I,  and  I  will  not  give  up  the 
keys."  Then  Henry  drew  his  sword,  and  to  save  his 
own  life,  the  treasurer  yielded.  If  Robert  had  been  on 
the  spot,  it  is  probable  that  the  Norman  barons  would 
have  stood  by  him,  and  that  there  might  have  been  much 


50 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1100-1135 


DURHAM   CATHEDRAL 
Built  mostly  in  the  reign  of  Henry 


trouble ;  but  Robert  had  not  yet  returned  from  his  cru- 
sade, and  in  a  few  days  Henry  was  crowned. 
^  The  Enghsh  were  glad  to  have  him  for  king  rather 
than  his  brother,  for  Henry  was  born  in  England,  and 
had  learned  to  speak  English.  Then,  too,  whenever 
they  thought  of  Robert,  they  remembered  that  he  was 
duke  of  Normandy,  and  was  a  friend  of  the  Norman 
barons  who  had  oppressed  them. 

Every  one  seems  to  have  had  a  nickname  in  those  days, 
and  the  people  called  Henry  Beauclerc,  or  the  Scholar^ 
Henry's  because  he  could  read  and  write,  and  only  the 
nickname,  clergy  were  expected  to  be  so  accomplished. 
One  story  says  that  he  won  his  fame  because  he  trans- 
lated ''*yEsop's  Fables  "  from  Latin  into  French. 

36.  Anselm  returns.  When  William  the  Conqueror 
was  king,  he  meant  to  rule  the  people,  whether  he  pleased 


1IOO-II35]  THE   NORMANS  51 

them  or  not.  Henry  meant  to  rule  the  people  and  also 
to  please  them.  First,  he  set  to  work  to  gain  the  friend- 
ship of  the  clergy.  The  man  who  had  helped  his  brother 
William  to  steal  the  treasures  of  churches  and  convents 
he  put  straightway  into  prison.  So  little  watch  was  kept 
of  the  prisoner,  however,  that  his  friends  brought  him  a 
rope  hidden  in  a  pitcher  of  wine,  and  he  escaped  to  Duke 
Robert  without  the  least  difficulty.  Henry  brought 
Ansclm  back  to  England,  and  in  a  short  time,  the  good 
archbishop  began  to  look  into  the  claims  of  abbots  and 
bishops  to  the  positions  that  they  held.  Whenever  he 
found  that  the  men  were  unworthy  or  had  secured  their 
honors  by  gifts  to  King  William,  Henry  immediately  put 
ether  men,  and  generally  good  ones,  into  their  places. 

37.  Henry's  charter.  Many  of  Henry's  deeds  were  a 
gain  to  his  people,  but  one  of  them  has  been  a  gain  to 
the  people  of  England  from  that  day  to  this.  It  was 
only  the  signing  of  his  name  on  a  bit  of  parchment,  but 
that  parchment  was  a  sacred  written  promise  to  treatjiis 
subjects  fairly  ;  and  one  century  later,  when  a  certain 
English  king  began  to  be  unjust  to  his  subjects,  they 
brought  forward  this  charter,  and  told  him  that  the  one 
who  wished  to  be  their  king  must  keep  these  promises. 

38.  Trouble  with  Robert.  Robert  did  not  easily  give 
up  his  wish  to  become  sovereign  of  England,  and  Henry 
was  equally  determined  to  win  Normandy.  The  barons 
in  both  countries  preferred  Robert,  because  he  was 
thoughtless  and  careless  and  lavish,  and  they  believed 
that,  with  him  for  a  ruler,  they  could  do  exactly  as  they 
chose.  The  church  supported  Henry,  and  Anselm 
brought  it  about  that  Robert  gave  up  his  claim  to  Eng- 
land, and  that  Henry  gave  him  three  thousand  marks  a 
year  and  a  strip  of  fand  adjoining  Normandy. 

Two  strong  friends  of  Robert's  were  in  England,  and 


52  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1100-1135 

although  the  brothers  had  agreed  that  neither  should 
punish  the  partisans  of  the  other,  Henry  at  once  showed 
that  he  had  no  idea  of  keeping  the  compact,  and  the  two 
friends  fled  to  Normandy. 

It  had  also  been  agreed  that  neither  country  should 
receive  the  fugitives  of  the  other ;  so  when  Robert  heart- 
ily welcomed  these  two  men  and  gave  them 
vades  Nor-  land  and  money,  Henry  crossed  the  Channel  to 
^^^^-  take  possession  of  Normandy,  Soon  after  he 
landed,  he  went  to  church.  The  end  of  the  building  was 
piled  up  with  all  sorts  of  household  goods  and  other  pro- 
perty of  the  peasants.  This  was  explained  when  the 
bishop  began  his  sermon,  for  he  said  :  — 

"  King  Henry,  the  land  is  full  of  violence.  Fire  and 
sword,  robbery  and  murder  are  everywhere.  This  is 
why  the  defenceless  peasants  have  brought  their  goods 
to  the  church  that  the  church  may  protect  them.  Your 
brother  Robert  does  nothing  for  the  land  but  to  waste 
its  revenues  and  abandon  it  to  plunder.  Take  up  arms 
and  save  us." 

It  was  the  custom  to  wear  long  hair,  long  beards,  and 
shoes  with  long,  pointed  toes ;  and  the  bishop  began  to 
talk  about  these,  and  begged  the  king  to  be  the  first  to 
give  them  up.  Then  he  produced  a  pair  of  shears  and 
cut  off  the  king's  long  hair,  for  Henry  was  quite  willing 
to  sacrifice  his  hair,  if  by  so  doing  he  could  win  the  Nor- 
man clergy  for  his  friends.  The  fashion  was  set,  and 
there  was  an  amusing  scene,  for  the  courtiers  all  hurried 
up,  each  one  eager  to  be  the  first  to  follow  the  king's 
example. 

The  setting  of  a  new  fashion  was  not  all,  for  soon 

came  some  hard  fisfhting.     One  town  after  an- 
Battle  ol  &         & 

Tencheteai.  Other  f^ll  into  Henry's  hanils,  and  at  last  came 
the  battle  of  Tenchebrai.     Henry  was  the  vie- 


rioo-1135]  THE   NORMANS  53 

tor,  and  now  that  he  had  been  six  years  on  the  throne  of 
England,  Normandy  was  in  his  hands,  and  Robert  was 
a  captive.  A  prisoner  Robert  remained  for  twenty-eight 
years,  and  in  prison  he  died. 

39.  Henry's  reforms.  One  thing  that  especially 
needed  reform  was  the  behavior  of  the  men  who  coined 
the  money  for  the  kingdom,  for  they  put  so  much  cheap 
metal  into  the  coins  that  a  man  who  went  to  market 
with  a  pound  was  often  unable  to  buy  a  shilling's  worth 
of  food.  When  Henry  first  began  to  realize  punishment 
what  trouble  this  was  making,  he  was  in  Nor-  o*  coiners, 
mandy,  but  without  waiting  to  return,  he  sent  word  for 
all  the  coiners  to  meet  at  Winchester,  and  commanded 
that  every  one  who  had  made  poor  money  should  lose 
his  right  hand.  He  did  not  even  wait  to  choose  a  better 
time  for  this  severity,  but  called  them  together  at  Christ- 
mas, and  within  twelve  days  more  than  fifty  of  them  had 
suffered. 

There  were  other  men,  called  purveyors,  whose  deeds 

needed  examination.     It  was  their  business  to   secure 

food  and  wine  for  the  kin^  and  his  court.    This 

Laws  made 
food  was  looked  upon  as  a  tax,  and  had  at  first  lorpurvey- 

been  paid  without  any  especial  grumbling  by  °"' 

the  people  near  whose  homes  the  king  held  his  court ; 

but  gradually  it  had  come  to  pass  that  a  visit  from  the 

king  was  almost  as  bad  for  any  district  as  an  invasion  by 

an  enemy  would  have  been,  for  the  purveyors  not  only 

took  what  they  wished  to  use,  but  they  seemed  to  like  to 

destroy  whatever  they  could  fifid.    If  there  was  too  much 

wine  to  drink,  they  would  use  it  to  bathe  their  horses' 

feet ;   and   if   there  was   too   much   grain,    they  would 

trample  it  into  the  ground.     When  Henry  found  this 

out,  he  told  the  purveyors  just  how  much  food  they 

might  take  without  pay,  and  what  price  they  should  give 


54 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1100-1135 

for  whatever  more  might  be  needed.  Whoever  broke 
this  law  was"  to  pay  a  heavy  fine,  or  even  to  be  hanged. 
Henry  was  a  great  traveller,  and  held  his  court  in  so 
many  different  places  that  the  decree  must  have  relieved 
a  large  number  of  people. 

40.  Severe  taxation.     Henry's    government   was   in 
many  ways  so  good  for  his  subjects  that  it  is  a  great  pity 

his  severe  taxation  should 
have  made  their  lives  mis. 
erable  ;  but  this  taxation 
was  the  one  thing  that  he 
would  not  give  up.  The 
"  Anglo  -  Saxon  Chroni- 
cle "  says  :  "  He  who  had 
any  property  was  be- 
reaved of  it  by  heavy 
taxes  and  assessments, 
and  he  who  had  none 
starved  with  hunger." 
In  this  poverty  and  pri- 


FEMALE    COSTUME,    TIME    OF    HENRY    I. 


The  long  and  knotted  sleeves  are  very  remark-    vation      StCalinS"   WaS    Car- 
able  ^  o 

ried  on  to  such  an  extent 
that  forty-four  thieves  were  hanged  at  one  time.  People 
in  the  country  suffered  most,  because  these  severe  taxes 
were  made  no  smaller  even  when  a  poor  crop  left  the 
farmers  almost  penniless.  It  is  no  wonder  that  all 
through  the  thirty-five  years  of  the  reign  of  Henry,  the 
"Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  "  records  as  a  great  misfortune 
a  storm  or  a  wind  or  a  flood  or  a  failure  of  fruit,  or  a 
sickness  that  affected  the  cattle  or  the  fowls.  Troubled 
as  they  were,  the  English  were  always  fearful  that  worse 
might  come  ;  and  over  and  over  again  the  "  Chronicle  " 
tells  of  strange  stars  or  circles  of  light  or  an  unwonted 
glow  in  the  sky,  or  a  moon  that  "  waxed  and  waned  con- 


IIOO-II35]  THE   NORMANS  55 

trary  to  nature."  When  there  wa^  merely  an  unusually 
low  tide  so  that  people  could  walk  across  the  Thames, 
these  poor,  tormented  Englishmen  trembled  lest  it  should 
presage  the  coming  upon  them  of  some  new  misfortune. 

41.  Henry's  marriage.  Henry  married  an  English 
woman  named  Matilda,  a  niece  of  the  little  Saxon  boy 
who  would  probably  have  ruled  after  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor if  he  had  been  old  enough.  The  Norman  nobles 
laughed  at  this  marriage,  and  called  the  king  and  queen 
"the  farmer  and  his  wife;"  but  the  English  were  de- 
lighted, because  this  Matilda  was  a  descendant  of  their 
beloved  Alfred  the  Great.  King  Henry,  too,  was,  through 
his  mother,  a  descendant  of  Alfred ;  and  when  a  prince 
was  born,  the  people  rejoiced,  for  they  thought  that  their 
next  king  would  be  a  Saxon  rather  than  a  Norman.  Un- 
fortunately, a  few  years  later  this  prince  went  on  a  visit 
to  France,  and  on  the  way  home  the  ship  was  wrecked, 
and  all  on  board  were  lost  save  one.  For  two  or  three 
days  no  one  dared  to  tell  the  king,  but  at  last  a  little  boy 
was  sent  to  break  the  sad  news.  The  little  fellow  was  so 
frightened  that  he  burst  into  tears  and  fell  at  the  king's 
feet.  He  could  only  stammer  between  his  sobs  :  "  The 
prince,  O  king,  —  the  White  Ship  !  "  The  king  loss  of  the 
understood  what  had  happened  even  without  WMteSWp. 
asking  a  question,  and,  though  he  lived  many  years  after 
this,  people  who  knew  him  said  that  he  was  never  again 
seen  to  smile. 

42.  Henry  plans  for  his  daughter  to  succeed  him. 
He  had  been  planning  to  win  as  wide  domains  as  possible 
in  order  to  leave  a  generous  heritage  to  his  son ;  and 
even  when  the  son  was  no  longer  living,  he  did  not  give 
up  the  determination  that  a  child  of  his  should  succeed 
him,  though  his  only  remaining  child  was  a  daughter,  and 
no  woman  had  ever  sat  on  the  throne  of  England.     He 


56  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1100-1135 

called  the  archbishop,  of  Canterbury  and  all  the  other 
chief  men  of  the  kingdom  to  meet  together.  Then  he 
demanded  that  they  swear  to  make  the  Princess  Matilda 
queen  of  England  when  he  himself  should  die.  They  all 
took  the  oath. 

43.  Henry's  death.  By  and  by  there  came  a  time 
when  the  sun  grew  dim  and  dark  at  midday,  and  the 
stars  shone  out  with  a  pale,  sickly  light.  The  people 
were  frightened.  "For,  surely,"  they  thought,  "this  is 
in  token  of  some  fearful  event  that  is  coming  to  pass ; " 
and  when  they  knew  that  Henry  had  died  in  Normandy, 
they  were  more  miserable  than  even  when  they  were 
suffering  from  his  severe  taxation.  "He  was  a  good 
man,"  said  they,  "though  we  were  in  great  awe  of  him." 
They  had  reason  to  be  afraid ;  for,  as  the  "  Chronicle  " 
says,  "Every  man  began  to  rob  his  neighbor."  There 
was  no  one  to  make  these  thieves  and  robbers  obey  the 
laws,  and  the  poor  people  were  more  wretched  than  ever 
before. 

44.  Who  should  rule  ?  Much  of  this  trouble  came 
about  because  Henry  had  been  so  determined  that  his 
daughter  should  rule.  In  a  feudal  country,  the  lords  who 
held  land  expected  to  fight  for  the  king,  but  they  also 
expected  him  to  lead  them  in  battle.  To  be  sure,  the 
chief  men  had  sworn  to  support  Matilda  as  their  queen, 
but  they  all  averred  that  they  had  given  this  promise 
on  condition  that  she  should  not  marry  a  foreigner. 
Henry  had  obliged  her  to  marry  a  Frenchman,  Geoffrey 
of  Anjou,  and  therefore  the  bishops  and  barons  declared 
that  they  were  free  from  their  oath.  Moreover,  Matilda 
was  so  haughty  and  unyielding  that  she  made  enemies 
wherever  she  went.  Where  should  England  look  for  a 
sovereign  } 


noo-ii54]  THE   NORMANS  57 

SUMMARY 

Henry's  prompt  action  in  seizing  the  crown  forestalled  the 
opposition  which  might  have  arisen  from  the  barons  in  behalf 
of  his  brother.  By  birth,  language,  and  marriage,  he  was  an 
Englishman,  and  save  for  his  severe  taxation,  he  meant  to 
please  his  subjects  as  well  as  to  rule  them.  He  issued  a 
charter  of  liberties,  reformed  abuses  in  the  church,  punished 
dishonest  coiners,  and  regulated  the  exactions  of  the  purvey- 
ors. By  the  battle  of  Tinchebrai,  Normandy  fell  into  his 
hands.  He  was  determined  that  his  daughter  Matilda  should 
succeed  him  ;  but,  though  bishops  and  barons  had  sworn  to 
support  her  claims,  his  death  was  followed  by  anarchy. 

4.    Stephen  of  Blois.     ii 35-1 154 

45.  Accession  of  Stephen.  Matilda  had  two  sons, 
but  they  were  not  old  enough  to  reign.  Then  there 
were  three  young  men,  sons  of  one  of  the  daughters  of 
William  the  Conqueror.  These  young  men  were  in  Nor- 
mandy, and  in  the  midst  of  the  general  lawlessness  that 
followed  the  death  of  Henry,  Stephen,  the  second  son, 
made  his  way  to  London,  and  was  received  by  the  Lon- 
doners as  their  king.  His  mother  had  married  the  Count 
of  Blois,  so  he  was  not  strictly  a  member  of  the  Norman 
Hne,  but  the  first  of  the  House  of  Blois. 

Stephen  had  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  in  England. 
He  was. liked  by  the  English,  and  there  was  no  special 
opposition  to  his  sitting  on  the  throne.  He  was  crowned 
in  three  weeks  after  Henry's  death,  and  at  once  he  gave 
the  people  two  excellent  charters,  promising  to  treat 
them  fairly  and  to  do  his  best  to  be  a  good  ruler.  If  he 
had  been  as  strong  as  he  was  agreeable,  England  would 
have  been  saved  many  years  of  trouble,  but  his  reign  was 
nothing  but  contests  from  beginning  to  end,  for  Matilda 
had  no  idea  of  giving  up  her  claim  to  the  crown,  and 


58  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1135-1154 

Stephen  was  not  powerful  or  wise  enough  to  oppose  her 
successfully. 

46.  Behavior  of  the  English  barons.  The  barons 
supported  now  one  and  now  the  other.  In  fact,  they 
did  not  care  much  who  was  on  the  throne,  if  they  were 
only  free  to  do  what  they  chose.  More  and  more  castles 
were  built,  for  Stephen  was  too  weak  to  prevent  their 
erection.  Every  noble  was  a  king  over  the  district 
around  him,  and  most  of  these  nobles  were  tyrants. 
Whenever  they  could  get  possession  of  a  man  who  had 
any  property,  they  would  put  him  into  one  of  their  ter- 
rible underground  dungeons,  often  among  snakes  and 
toads.  Sometimes  they  would  tie  a  knotted  cord  about 
his  head  and  twist  it  until  it  cut  into  the  brain ;  or  they 
would  put  around  his  neck  a  heavy  iron  collar  covered 
with  sharp  points,  so  that,  whether  he  lay  down  or  sat 
up,  he  was  in  the  greatest  agony.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
to  escape  from  their  tormentors  the  poor  people  gave 
up  every  penny  that  they  possessed.  The  nobles  would 
burst  open  the  churches,  and  when  they  had  taken  all 
that  was  of  value  to  them,  they  would  set  fire  to  the 
buildings.  People  became  so  timid  that  if  two  or  three 
men  came  riding  up  to  a  village,  those  who  dwelt  there 
would  run  for  their  lives,  thinking  that  the  robbers  were 
coming  upon  them. 

After  two  years  Stephen  went  over  to  Normandy. 
The  barons  there  expected  to  obey  him  just  as  they  had 
been  obliged  to  obey  his  uncle  Henry ;  but  they  soon 
found,  somewhat  to  their  surprise,  that  they  were  much 
stronger  than  this  new  king.  They  were  delighted  that 
after  Henry's  long  reign  they  had  at  last  a  ruler  who 
could  not  prevent  them  from  doing  just  as  they  pleased. 
What  they  pleased  to  do  was  to  behave  as  badly  as  the 
barons  across  the  water,  and  in  a  short  time  Normandy 
had  become  as  lawless  a  place  as  England. 


"35-1154] 


THE   NORMANS 


59 


47.  Contest  with  Matilda.  All  this  time  Matilda 
was  pressing  her  claims  to  the  throne.  Her  uncle,  the 
king  of  Scotland,  invaded  England  in  her  behalf,  and  at 
Cowton  Moor  a  battle  was  fought,  called  the  Battle  of 
the  Standard.  In  this  struggle  clergymen  were 
the  leaders,  for  in  those  days  a  bishop  was  often  the  stand- 
as  capable  of  being  at  the  head  of  an  army  as  "**  ^^^^' 
of  a  church.  For  a  standard  they  used  a  sort  of  wooden 
frame,  or  pillar,  carried  about  in  a  wagon. 
On  the  pillar  were  four  consecrated  ban- 
ners, and  above  them  was  the  cross.  One 
of  the  bishops  stood  in  the  wagon,  and 
he  was  constantly  shouting  encourage- 
ment to  the  soldiers. 

In  one  place  after  another  the  fighting 
went  on  for  many  years.  At  one  time 
Stephen  was  taken  prisoner,  and  Matilda's 
Matilda  was  practically  queen  escape, 
for  a  few  months ;  but  she  was  so  proud 
and  arrogant  that  the  very  people  that 
had  most  wanted  her  for  queen  began  to 
desert  her.  At  another  time  she  came 
near  being  captured,  for  Stephen  was  be- 
sieging the  castle  at  Oxford,  in  which  she  had  taken 
refuge ;  but  one  day  there  was  a  heavy  snowstorm,  and 
that  night  Matilda  and  a  few  guards  dressed  themselves 
in  white  and  slipped  away  silently  over  the  snow  and 
across  the  frozen  Thames  to  a  place  of  safety. 

The  release  of  Stephen  had  been  brought  about,  but 
Matilda,  too,  had  made  a  great  gain,  for  her  husband, 
Geoffrey  of  Anjou,  had  been  fighting  success- 
fully in  Normandy,  and   his   conquest  of  the  gieends. 
duchy  had  made  him  too  powerful  a  prince  for  ^^^^" 
the  claims  of  Matilda  to  be  neglected  any  longer.     The 


THE   STANDARD 


60  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [12th  Cent. 

country  was  worn  out  with  fighting  and  with  a  weak 
government,  or  rather  no  government  at  all ;  both  Ma- 
tilda and  Stephen  were  tired  of  the  contention,  and  at 
last  a  treaty  was  signed  by  which  it  was  agreed  that 
Stephen  should  rule  as  long  as  he  lived,  and  that  at  his 
death  Henry,  son  of  Matilda  and  Geoffrey,  should  receive 
the  crown.  How  long  this  treaty  would  have  been  kept 
is  a  question,  but  the  next  year  Stephen  died  and  Henry 
became  king. 

48.  Three  languages  in  England.  During  this  cen- 
tury there  were  three  languages  used  in  England.  Latin 
was  spoken  in  the  courts  of  justice  and  in  the  church 
service.  French  was  spoken  at  the  court  of  the  king, 
and  was  looked  upon  as  the  language  of  polite  society. 
English  was  spoken  by  the  masses  of  the  English  people. 
The  literary  language  was  Latin.  French  roman-ces  and 
songs  were  birought  from  France,  but  an  Englishman 
would  have  thought  it  very  strange  to  write  a  book  in 
any  other  language  than  Latin.  To  use  English  would 
have  seemed  to  him  like  writing  in  **  baby-talk,"  and  the 
"Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle"  ends  in  11 54  at  the  death  of 
Stephen. 

Though  English  authors  wrote  in  Latin,  the  subject  of 
their  books  was  almost  invariably  the  history  of  the 
History  is  country.  It  may  be  that  while  the  selfishness 
written.  ^f  William  Rufus  and  the  weakness  of  Stephen 
had  shown  them  that  what  was  the  loss  of  one  part  of 
the  nation  was  the  loss  of  all,  the  strong,  firm  rule  of  the 
Conqueror  and  of  Henry  had  given  them  an  idea  of 
what  a  power  a  united  country  might  become.  At  any 
Geoffrey  of  I'^te,  the  men  who  wrote  were  thinking  of  their 
Monmouth,  country  and  writing  books  about  her.  One  of  . 
the  most  interesting  of  these  writers  was  a  Welshman,*^ 
called  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth;  who  wrote  a  "  History  of 


I2th  Cent.]  THE   NORMANS  6l 

British  Kings."  There  is  more  of  legend  in  it  than  of 
fact,  and  in  this  book  are  found  the  stories  of  King 
Arthur  which  Tennyson  has  made  into  poems  in  his 
"Idylls  of  the  King." 

49.  Mystery  plays.  Another  thing  that  was  brought 
about  by  the  sufferings  of  the  English  people  was  a  great 
desire  to  know  more  of  religion.  When  they  were  so 
miserable,  their  only  hope  was  that  after  they  died  they 
would  be  happy  enough  to  make  up  for  what  they  had 
borne  on  earth.  Very  few  of  them  could  read,  and  it 
was  difficult  for  them  to  understand  any  but  the  simplest 
of  sermons.  As  so  few  teachers  know  how  to  speak 
simply,  the  poor  people  would  have  been  left  in  great 
ignorance,  had  it  not  been  for  the  pictures  in  the 
churches,  and  for  the  mystery  plays. 

These  pictures  represented  scenes  in  Bible  history  or 
in  the  lives  of  good  men,  and  the  people  could  walk  about 
the  church,  and  learn  the  stories  from  the  piqtures. 
The  mystery  plays  must  have  been  a  very  great  delight. 
These  plays  were  scenes  in  Bible  history,  and  they  were 
acted  by  the  priests.  They  were  not  meant  for  amuse- 
ment, but  for  teaching.  First,  there  were  prayers  ;  then 
the  priests  and  their  assistants  acted  out  the  story  of 
Cain  and  Abel,  or  of  the  creation,  or  of  building  the 
ark.  At  Christmas  they  aqted  the  appearance  of  the 
angels  to  the  shepherds,  and  at  Easter  they  acted  the 
resurrection.  By  and  by,  so  many  people  came  to  see 
the  plays  that  the  church  was  not  large  enough  ;  and 
then  the  priests  acted  in  the  churchyard,  putting  up  a 
high  stage,  or  platform,  so  that  people  could  see  and 
hear  better.  When  still  more  people  wished  to  see,  first 
the  priests  and  then  guilds,  or  companies  of  trades- 
men, drove  about  the  city  in  great  two-story  wagons, 
stopping  at  certain  places  to  act  the  play.     The  upper 


62 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[i2th  Cent. 


Story  of  these  wagons  represented  heaven,  the  lower  one 
was  earth,  and  below  the  earth  was  the  abode  of  the  evil 
spirits.  The  angels  had  golden  hair  and  white  robes, 
while  Satan  wore  a  hideous  suit  of  leather,  covered  with 
black  hair  and  feathers  and  ending  in  claws  at  the  hands 


A  MYSTERY  PLAY  AT  COVENTRY 


and  feet.  The  actors  did  everything  that  they  could  to 
make  the  plays  seem  real  to  the  people ;  for  instance, 
when  they  acted  the  creation,  they  suddenly  let  loose  all 
the  birds  and  beasts  that  they  could  get  together,  as  if 
the  animals  had  just  been  created. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  amusement  in  these  plays, 
and  in  one  comical  scene  Noah  scolds  his  wife  because 
she  will  not  go  into  the  ark.  With  our  way  of  looking 
at  such  matters,  they  sometimes  seem  a  little  irreverent. 


I066-II54] 


THE   NORMANS 


63 


When  the  angel  brings  "good  tidings  of  great  joy,"  one 
shepherd  boasts,  "  I  can  sing  it  as  well  as  he,"  and  then 
he  makes  a  comical  attempt  to  imitate  the  angelic  song. 
With  all  these  absurdities,  however,  people  went  to  see 
the  plays  as  reverently  as  they  went  to  church  ;  and  from 
them  they  certainly  did  get  a  familiarity  with  much  of 
the  Bible  story  that  they  could  hardly  have  gained  in  any 
other  way. 

SUMMARY 

Henry's  determination  that  his  daughter  should  rule  was 
the  cause  of  years  of  strife  between  her  party  and  that  of 
Stephen,  Henry's  nephew.  During  most  of  this  time,  Stephen 
was  nominally  king,  but  his  rule  was  so  inefficient  that  Nor- 
mandy as  well  as  England  was  in  disorder.  Finally,  a  com- 
promise was  made ;  Stephen  was  to  reign  as  long  as  he  lived, 
but  was  to  be  succeeded  by  Matilda's  son  Henry.  Bad  as  so 
weak  a  government  was,  its  very  lawlessness  brought  about  a 
strong  desire  for  peace  and  a  firm  rule.  The  English  thought 
more  of  their  country  as  a  whole,  and  several  authors  began 
to  write  the  history  of  the  land. 

Three  languages  were  still  used  in  England.  Religious 
instruction  was  given  to  the  people  by  means  of  pictures  and 
mystery  plays. 


Robert,  Duke 
of  Normandy. 


THE  NORMAN  KINGS 

I.  William  I. 

(Conqueror), 

1066-J087. 


William  II. 

(Rufus), 

1087-noo. 


I 

3.  Henry  I. 

(Beauclerc), 

1100-1x35. 

Matilda,  m.  ' 
Geoffrey  of  Anjou. 

K.  Hbnry  II. 
(Plantagenet), 
1154-1x89.      ^ 


Adela,  m. 
Count  of  Blois. 


4.  Stephen 
(of  Blois), 
"35-"S4, 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  ANGEVINS,  OR   PLANTAGENETS 
1154-1399 

5.  Henry  H.     ii  54-1 189 

61.  The  name  "  Plantagenet."  The  father  of  Henry 
n.  was  Geoffrey  of  Anjou,  and  from  this  name  Henry 
and  his  descendants  are  called  the  Angevins.  Another 
name,  or  nickname,  that  of  "  Plantagenet,"  was  given 
them  because  this  Geoffrey  had  a  habit  of  wearing  in 
his  cap  a  sprig  of  the  yellow-blossomed  broom  plant, 
whose  French  name  is  "plante-genet."  When  Henry 
came  to  the  throne,  he  had  more  land  than  any  previous 
king  of  England  had  ever  ruled.  He  had  received  wide 
domains  from  his  father  and  his  mother  and  with  his 
wife,  and  as  his  territories  in  France  were  close  together, 
the  whole  western  half  of  that  country  was  in  his  hands, 
besides  all  of  England. 

62.  Henry  II.  arrives  in  England.  When  Stephen 
died,  Henry  was  in  Normandy,  and  he  did  not  hurry  to 
England  lest  some  one  else  should  seize  upon  the  crown. 
Indeed,  the  English  people  had  a  right  to  feel  a  little 
impatient,  for  it  was  six  weeks  before  they  had  a  chance 
to  see  their  new  ruler.  When  they  did  see  him,  they 
were  well  pleased.  He  was  young,  but  he  had  already 
shown  quite  an  amount  of  common  sense  and  strength 
of  character  ;  and  the  English  had  suffered  so  much 
from  the  weakness  of  Stephen  that  they  would  almost 
have  welcomed  a  tyrant,  if  he  had  given  promise  of  a 


■^iti^iiCW^^^ 


o                                       2°                                         "o 

^               © 

'^^Jr^EMP     ^^1 

1 

■^-A         '^« 

J             \ 

\        ? 

^AVf        J?"v    \^^X^ 

Cl          /  ^ 

—a    % 

v--''^"^-^— J                        \           \                                 ^^ 

^) — ^ 

'     1          ? 

^^>-^  -Vl\          < 

s 

-  f     _S\\ 

U 

^^.^-^     .--i.     ^C\                 T 

\ 

y     / 

^^=C^ 

^ 

^%           ^(_ft^_/_^ 

r>s 

\  . 

o  v_ 

Q 

N  ^  ^  ^  ^  r 

Uj 

iv 

M  f% 

'V 

^Vir^v^ 

A. 

0^ 

o  .——^    IS?  1 
/    r'     -         am-- 

/o      i^ 

.-'""■-• 

y  ('"  "■•-■® 

^             ^1    1       ^i<     2 

■■•■"       i"^    •          )  '••/ 

Y     '  y    0§0^ 

■           L  1^               °       A.y.... 

■•._ 

^ 

o    "^^  g  1       •  V 

^    V          ^    &^ 

N 

.  . 

O 

^        -f   ^ 

\^*^ 

V 

^         rn.                   ^      ^ 

"l  ■* ■ 

'^ 

~ 

o 

/< 

^ 

v6             o 

QQ 

/ 

^                                    ^ 

/ 

^ 

S 

\    a. 

/ 

03 

fi^ 

fiq 

/       c/3 

00 

0                                      2°                                            -o 

^               « 

1154-1189]     THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  65 

steady,  firm  government  that  would  punish  the  evil  and 
protect  the  good. 

63.  Destruction  of  the  castles.  England  was  in  a 
bad  condition.  For  nineteen  years  there  had  been  pil- 
lage and  fighting.  It  had  not  been  a  united  land,  but 
rather  a  collection  of  little  countries  with  a  castle  in 
every  country,  a  baron  in  every  castle,  and  every  baron 
doing  exactly  as  much  evil  as  he  chose.  There  was  no 
question  that  the  first  thing  for  the  king  to  do  was  to 
tear  down  these  castles ;  and  tear  them  down  he  did, 
several  hundred  of  them.  Without  a  castle,  a  baron  had 
little  more  power  than  any  other  rich  man,  and*  the  people 
rejoiced  when  they  saw  the  forces  of  the  king  demolishing 
the  strongholds  that  had  caused  so  much  suffering,  and 
letting  the  light  and  air  into  the  horrible  dungeons  where 
prisoners  had  endured  such  agonies.  Henry  had  a  per- 
fect right  to  destroy  these  places,  since  for  one  hundred 
years  it  had  been  a  law  that  no  one  should  build  a  castle 
without  the  king's  permission ;  and  the  barons  had  had 
no  permission,  but  had  built  whatever  they  chose,  be- 
cause they  knew  that  King  Stephen  could  not  prevent 
them. 

64.  Reform  of  coinage.  There  was  the  same  old 
trouble  to  meet  about  the  coinage,  for  the  barons  had 
been  coining  money  and  using  entirely  too  much  base 
metal.  They  had  forced  the  people  to  take  the  coins, 
but  if  a  man  had  money  in  his  hand,  he  never  knew  how 
much  he  could  buy  with  it.  Henry  decreed  that  no  one 
should  use  this  money,  and  that  no  one  but  himself 
should  coin  money. 

66.  Scutage.  In  the  course  of  five  years,  Henry's 
government  was  so  well  established  in  England  that  he 
was  able  to  do  what  no  other  king  would  have  dared  to  ven- 
ture, that  is,  to  go  away  from  his  kingdom  for  four  years. 


66  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1154-1189 

Through  his  wife  he  had  a  claim  on  some  land  in  France, 
and  he  wished  to  get  possession  of  it.  Where  to  find 
his  soldiers  was  a  question,  for  while  by  the  feudal  laws 
every  baron  who  held  land  was  required  to  furnish  a  cer- 
tain number,  not  one  man  could  be  compelled  to  follow 
the  king  out  of  the  country.  William  the  Conqueror  had 
had  the  same  difficulty  to  meet  when  he  came  to  Eng- 
land, but  he  had  met  it  by  persuasions  and  by  lavish 
promises.  Henry  met  it  by  a  plan  that  had  perhaps 
more  to  do  with  the  overthrow  of  feudalism  than  any 
other  one  act.  He  made  no  attempt  to  force  his  barons 
to  go,  but  «aid  to  them  that  if  they  preferred  to  stay  at 
home  and  pay  him  a  tax  instead,  he  would  not  object. 
This  was  a  wise  scheme  of  the  king's,  for  since  many 
barons  preferred  to  remain  in  England,  he  was  provided 
with  a  generous  sum  of  money,  and  he  could  hire  well- 
trained  soldiers  who  wished  to  fight,  instead  of  setting 
out  with  a  company  of  unwilling  followers.  This  tax 
was  called  scutage,  because  the  Latin  word  for  shield  is 
scutum. 

66.  Thomas  a  Becket.  There  was  one  man  in  Eng- 
land who  in  the  end  gave  Henry  more  trouble  than  all 
his  other  subjects  in  both  England  and  France.  This 
man's  name  was  Thomas  a  Becket.  He  was  a  person  of 
great  talent,  great  wealth,  and  great  love  of  luxury  and 
display.  He  lived  in  a  house  almost,  if  not  quite,  as 
handsome  as  that  of  the  king.  It  was  full  of  the  richest 
furniture  that  could  be  bought,  and  the  servants  were  as 
finely  dressed  as  if  they  had  been  people  of  rank.  To 
Hisiuxu-  this  luxurious  mansion  came  crowds  of  guests, 
rious  life,  and  nothing  else  seemed  to  make  a  Becket  so 
happy  as  to  entertain  them  as  if  they  were  so  many 
princes.  Most  elaborate  banquets  were  served  to  them 
of  the  choicest,  most  costly  dainties  that  could  be  brought 


1154-1189]     THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  6/ 

to  England.    They  feasted  from  golden  plates  and  drank 
from  golden  goblets. 

This  was  a  Becket's  life  at  home.  When  he  was  away 
from  home,  he  had  even  more  of  glitter  and  display  ;  and 
when  he  went  as  an  ambassador  to  France,  his  gifts  were 
so  lavish,  his  train  so  long,  and  his  manner  of  travelling 
so  extravagant,  that  people  gazed  and  marvelled,  and 
thought  that  this  could  not  be  an  ambassador,  it  must  be 
the  king  himself. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  they  thought  so,  for  this  simple 
deacon  was  accompanied  —  if  we  may  trust  the  old  chron- 
iclers—  by  a  guard  of  one  thousand  priests,  a  Becket's 
nobles,  knights,  and  other  followers.  There  '°iio™»- 
were  also  two  hundred  and  fifty  pages.  The  pages  sang, 
and  the  standards  waved,  and  then  came  the  long  train 
of  wagons,  loaded  to  the  full  with  offerings  for  the 
churches,  the  sacred  vessels  of  his  own  church,  robes  and 
vestments  of  the  richest  material,  heavy  with  embroidery 
and  glittering  with  precious  stones. 

A  Becket  was  a  special  friend  of  the  king's,  and  when 
Henry  wished  to  make  a  law  that  would  give  the  church 
less  power,  he  did  not  doubt  for  a  minute  that  a  Becket, 
deacon  as  he  was,  would  fall  in  with  his  ideas  and  do  his 
best  to  please  the  sovereign  who,  caring  little  for  luxury 
himself,  had  given  his  councillor  the  power  to  gratify  his 
most  costly  whims. 

67.  Henry's  contest  with  a  Becket.  It  had  been  the 
custom  for  a  clergyman  to  be  tried  by  the  church  and 
not  by  the  regular  courts  of  justice.  The  penalties  in- 
flicted by  the  king's  courts  were  very  severe.  They 
made  nothing  of  cutting  off  people's  hands  or  feet  or  of 
putting  out  their  eyes,  for  crimes  that  we  should  punish 
to-day  by  a  short  imprisonment.  The  church,  ohurciior 
on  the  other  hand,  rarely  punished  a  clergyman  ®°™^  ^ 


68 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1154-1189 


in  any  other  way  than  by  giving  him  a  position  of  less 
honor  or  by  depriving  him  of  his  income  for  a  certain 
time.  The  clergy  did  not  approve  of  these  cruel  punish- 
ments and  protected  as  many  people  from  them  as  possi- 
ble. As  a  general  thing,  no  one  but  a  priest  was  expected 
to  know  anything  of  books,  and  little  by  little  it  had  come 


J)IsPtliNG    WITH    HENRY    II. 
The  king  to  ihe  left  seated  on  Ins  ihrone,  a  Becker  atiired  in  his  pontifical  habii  and  hold- 
ing the  cross  in  his  hand. 

about  that  whoever  could  read  and  write  was  looked  upon 
as  a  clergyman,  and  no  matter  what  crime  he  had  com- 
mitted, he  was  free  from  the  punishment  that  other  men 
would  have  had  to  suffer. 

Henry  meant  to  take  away  this  privilege  and  to  treat 
ABecketas  ^^^  "^^^  alike  when  it  came  to  a  question  of 
arciiMsiiop.   keeping  the  laws ;  and  with  this  plan  in  mind, 


1154-1189]     THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  69 

he  made  a  Becket  archbishop  of  Canterbury.  He  was 
greatly  surprised  when  the  new  archbishop  seemed  sud- 
denly to  have  become  another  man.  This  lover  of  luxury 
put  on  the  dress  of  a  monk.  He  wore  rough  haircloth 
next  to  his  skin  and  scourged  himself  every  day.  Instead 
of  nobles,  he  entertained  beggars,  washing  their  feet  and 
sitting  at  the  same  table  with  them.  He  ate  the  coarsest 
of  food,  and  drank  bitter  water  instead  of  his  dainty 
wines. 

Henry  was  amazed,  but  he  said  to  himself  with  a  quiet 
smile  :  "A  Becket  always  did  like  to  make  a  display, 
and  now  he  is  exhibiting  himself  as  a  saint.  He  will 
change  again  before  long." 

Soon  the  test  came.  A  priest  had  committed  a  most 
shocking  murder,  and  Henry  demanded  that  he  be  tried 
in  court.  The  archbishop  replied  that  the  man  Henry's 
had  been  tried  by  the  church  and  degraded  from  demand. 
,  his  office,  and  that  he  could  not  be  tried  again  for  the 
same  offence.  Then  Henry  called  the  clergy  together 
and  laid  the  matter  before  them.  "Will  you  submit 
to  the  ancient  laws  and  customs  of  the  kingdom .? "  he 
asked. 

A  Becket,  as  holder  of  the  highest  office  in  the 
church  was  the  one  to  reply,  and  this  is  what  he  said  : 
"We  will  observe  them,  saving  the  privileges  of  our 
order,"  a  reply  which  promised  exactly  nothing  at  all. 
So  the  struggle  went  on.  The  king  believed  a  Beckers 
that  he  was  upholding  justice,  the  archbishop  "p^^- 
believed  that  he  was  upholding  the  rights  of  the  church. 
Finally  a  Becket  had  to  flee. 

Henry  meant  that  his  son  should  succeed  him  without 
any  opposition,  and,  therefore,  he  had  the  young  man 
crowned  and  associated  with  him  in  the  govern-  Excommu- 
ment.     It  had  become  a  custom  for  the  arch-  ^ca^ioa- 


70 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1154-1189 


bishop  of  Canterbury  to  perform  the  ceremony  of  coro- 
nation, and  when  in  his  exile  a  Becket  learned  that  the 
king  had  been  crowned  by  the  archbishop  of  York,  he 
felt  this  as  another  insult,  and  straightway  brought  it 
about  that  the  Pope  excommunicated  several  councillors 
whom  a  Becket  thought  in  fault.     This  excommunication 


THE  SCENE   OF  A   BECKET'S   MURDER    IN    CANTERBURY    CATHEDRAL 


cut  them  off  from  the  church  and  its  sacraments.  They 
were  really  made  outcasts,  for  those  who  aided  and 
sheltered  them  were  threatened  with  the  same  penalty. 
It  was  declared  formally  that  if  they  did  not  repent  and 
receive  pardon  of  the  church  before  they  died,  they 
would  perish  ^ternally. 

Even  after  this  there  was  so  much  of  a  reconciliation 


1154-1189]     THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS   71 

between  a  Becket  and  Henry  that  the  archbishop  re- 
turned to  England.  Henry  was  in  France,  and  the  next 
news  brought  him  was  that  a  Becket  had  persuaded  the 
Pope  to  excommunicate  several  bishops  who  had  assisted 
at  the  coronation  of  the  prince. 

58.  A  Becket's  murder.  When  Henry  was  really 
angry,  he  was  almost  like  a  madman,  and  now  he  called 
out  in  a  fury  :  "  Will  no  one  deliver  me  from  this  inso- 
lent priest  ?  "  He  always  declared  that  he  did  not  mean 
that  he  wished  a  Becket  to  be  murdered,  but  there  were 
four  men  who  so  understood  the  speech.  They  set  off 
for  Canterbury  and  struck  down  the  archbishop  in  the 
church.  The  whole  land  was  aghast.  The  priest  who  had 
been  killed  at  the  very  altar  was  looked  upon  as  a  saint. 
Henry  was  frightened,  and  he  was  sincerely  sorry  for 
the  words  that  he  had  spoken  in  his  anger,  and  whose 
consequences  had  been  so  far  beyond  his  thought.  He 
gave  up  every  point  upon  which  he  and  the  dead  arch- 
bishop had  differed.  The  Pope  believed  in  his  penitence 
and  granted  him  forgiveness. 

69.  Henry's  penance.  About  this  time  all  kinds  of 
troubles  came  upon  the  land,  —  invasion,  revolt,  tempest. 
Both  Henry  and  his  people  believed  that  this  was  in 
consequence  of  the  murder,  and  that  the  king  must  do 
more  to  prove  his  penitence.  Henry  mounted  his  horse 
and  rode  to  the  town  of  Canterbury.  Then  he  put  on  a 
woolen  shirt  and  a  coarse  cloak  and  walked  barefoot  over 
the  rough  stones  of  the  streets  to  a  Becket's  tomb  in  the 
cathedral.  Here  he  knelt  and  prayed.  Then  bishops, 
abbots,  and  the  eighty  monks  took  a  rod,  each  in  turn, 
and  the  powerful  king,  who  for  twenty  years  had  ruled 
England  and  Normandy  as  he  would,  now  dropped  his 
cloak  and  received  a  blow  from  the  hands  of  every  one 
present. 


72  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1154-1189 

After  this  the  people  felt  that  Henry  had  really  been 
forgiven,  especially  as  within  a  few  days  one  invader  was 
conquered  on  land  and  another  driven  back  over  the  sea. 
A  very  beautiful  shrine  was  made  at  Canterbury,  and 
here  the  bones  of  a  Becket  were  placed.  Many  churches 
throughout  Europe  begged  for  even  the  smallest  relic  of 
him,  and  many  thousands  of  people  came  from  far-away 
countries  to  kneel  before  his  shrine. 

60.  English  rule  in  Ireland.  At  the  time  when 
Henry's  messengers  were  in  Rome  trying  to  secure  the 
Pope's  pardon  for  their  sovereign,  the  king  himself 
thought  that  with  all  the  hatred  aroused  against  him,  it 
would  be  as  well  for  him  to  be  out  of  the  country,  and  he 
was  glad  that  it  seemed  necessary  for  him  to  go  to  Ire- 
land. 

This  island  was  divided  into  provinces,  and  there  was 
one  chief,  or  king,  for  each  province,  and  also  one  to 
whom  the  others  paid  some  general  deference  as  to  an 
overlord.  One  of  these  kings,  driven  out  of  the  land  for 
his  wrongdoing,  had  paid  homage  to  Henry,  and  obtained 
his  permission  to  enlist  Englishmen  to  help  regain  the 
throne.  The  most  powerful  man  that  he  secured  was  an 
earl  who  was  nicknamed  Strongbow.  The  English  forces 
were  successful,  and  when  this  king  died,  Strongbow,  who 
had  married  the  princess,  became  king  in  his  place.  Of 
course  it  did  not  please  Henry  to  have  one  of  his  subjects 
king  in  the  island,  for  he  had  meant  to  gain  the  power 
there  for  himself.  Then  it  was  that  he  went  to  Ireland. 
He  had  many  ships,  and  they  were  well  filled  with  soldiers. 
Strongbow  was  alarmed  and  did  homage,  as  did  many  of 
the  Irish  princes.  English  rule  was  established,  but  in 
The"Eng-  ^nly  a  portion  of  the  island,  known  from  this  as 
ushPaie."  the  ''English  Pale."  When  Strongbow  died, 
Henry  sent  his  own  son  John  to  rule  the  island.    Henry 


1154-1189]     THE   ANGEVINS,   OR  PLANTAGENETS    73 

had  treated  the  Irish  chieftains  with  courtesy  and  atten- 
tion, but  John,  a  silly  boy  of  twelve  years,  made  fun  of 
their  homely  dress  and  encouraged  his  attendants  to  in- 
sult them.  In  a  year  the  insolent  boy  was  recalled  to 
England. 

61.  Henry's  judicial  reforms.  After  Henry  felt  him- 
self fully  pardoned  for  the  death  of  the  archbishop,  he 
went  on  with  a  reform  in  the  courts  of  justice  that  his 
grandfather,  Henry  I.,  had  planned.  The  early  Saxon 
way  of  proving  a  man's  innocence  of  a  crime  was  to 
require  him  to  plunge  his  arm  into  boiling  water  or  to 
carry  a  red-hot  iron  so  many  paces.  If  after  a  certain 
number  of  days  the  arm  was  well  or  was  healing  healthily, 
the  man  was  called  innocent,  because  it  was  claimed  that 
God  had  protected  him.  In  the  same  belief  that  God 
would  clear  the  innocent,  the  Normans  had  introduced 
the  usage  of  requiring  two  men  who  had  differed  to  fight 
a  duel.  Then  it  became  a  custom  for  each  baron  to  hold 
a  sort  of  court,  but  as  the  baron  was  responsible  to  no  one 
for  the  justice  of  his  decisions,  there  was  every  tempta- 
tion to  give  the  case  to  the  one  that  feed  him  most 
generously.  Henry  strove  to  have  justice  administered 
fairly  throughout  the  land ;  and  to  bring  this  about,  he 
divided  his  kingdom  into  districts,  and  sent  his  judges 
through  them  at  stated  times. 

62.  Henry's  sons  rebel.  It  seemed  to  be  the  fate  of 
the  Norman  kings  to  meet  nothing  but  ingratitude  from 
their  children.  Henry  II.  had  four  sons,  and  it  was  his 
plan  that  the  eldest  should  be  king  of  England,  that 
the  next  two  should  hold  wide  domains  in  France,  and 
that  the  youngest  should  rule  over  Ireland.  The  eldest 
claimed  his  inheritance  at  once.  He  would  have  either 
England  or  Normandy,  he  said.  The  queen  favored 
the  demand,  and  with  his  mother's  sympathy  the  young 


74  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1189 

man  fled  to  France,  accompanied  by  two  of  his  brothers. 
These  two  boys,  one  fifteen  and  one  fourteen  years  of 
age,  had  also  demanded  of  their  father  the  land  that  he 
had  intended  for  them  at  his  death.  They  rebelled,  and 
with  the  king  of  France  they  planned  an  attack  upon 
,  England.  Henry  was  then  ill,  but  when  he  was  told  of 
this  revolt,  he  said  :  "  I  have  one  comfort  left.  My  son 
John  has  never  conspired  against  me.  Give  me  the  list 
of  the  rebels."  Behold,  at  the  very  head  of  the  list  was 
the  name  of  Prince  John.  "  Let  things  go  as  they  will," 
said  the  broken-hearted  king.  "  I  have  nothing  more  to 
care  for  ; "  and  in  two  days  he  died. 

63.  The  Holy  Grail.  In  these  different  reigns,  under 
kings  good  or  bad,  strong  or  weak,  the  country  was  grad- 
ually working  her  way  upward  and  onward.  A  writer 
now  appeared,  one  Walter  Map,  who  wrote  on  the  same 
subject  that  was  chosen  by  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  but 
Map  made  poems  of  the  old  crude  legends.  One  of  his 
stories  that  of  the  Holy  Grail,  came  from  the  Conti- 
nent. The  Grail  was  the  cup  used  by  Christ  at  the  Last 
Supper.  The  legend  is  that  it  was  carried  to  Pilate,  who 
gave  it  to  Joseph  of  Arimathea.  Joseph  brought  it  to 
Glastonbury  in  England,  and  there  it  was  to  remain  as 
long  as  its  guardians  were  pure  and  good.  At  last  the 
time  came  when  one  was  unworthy  of  his  trust,  and  the 
cup  vanished,  though  it  might  sometimes  be  seen  by 
those  that  were  holy  in  thought  and  deed ;  and  in  the 
stories  of  King  Arthur  it  was  a  favorite  quest  of  the 
knights  to  ride  the  world  over  and  meet  all  hardship  and 
all  adventure  in  the  hope  of  once  having  a  glimpse  of  the 
sacred  vision.  Tennyson  describes  its  appearance  to  a 
nun  whose  heart  was  pure  and  holy.  There  was  first 
the  sound  of  beautiful  music  coming  nearer  and  nearer ; 
then,  — 


1189]      THE    ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  75 

"  Streamed  through  my  cell  a  cold  and  silver  beam, 
And  down  the  long  beam  stole  the  Holy  Grail, 
Rose-red  with  beatings  in  it,  as  if  alive, 
Till  all  the  white  walls  of  my  cell  were  dyed 
With  rosy  colors  leaping  on  the  wall ; 
And  then  the  music  faded,  and  the  Grail 
Past,  and  the  beam  decayed,  and  from  the  walls 
The  rosy  quiverings  died  into  the  night." 

64.  The  Grail  and  the  crusades.  It  is  easy  to  see 
how  this  story  became  such  a  delight  to  the  people  of 
that  time,  for  it  was  just  in  line  with  what  was  coming 
to  be  in  their  thoughts  more  and  more,  and  that  was 
the  crusades.  The  first  crusade  had  not  aroused  a  great 
amount  of  interest  in  England  ;  but  two  years  before  the 
death  of  Henry,  news  came  that  Jerusalem,  which  had 
been  in  the  hands  of  the  Christians,  had  again  fallen 
under  the  rule  of  the  Saracens.  All  England  was  ex- 
cited, and  the  king  himself  was  prevented  from  becom- 
ing a  crusader  only  by  the  advice  of  his  council  and  the 
revolt  of  his  son  Richard.  It  was  the  idea  of  an  earthly 
journey  and  some  very  earthly  fighting,  resulting  withal 
in  great  religious  gain,  that  made  the  story  of  the  Holy 
Grail  so  intensely  interesting  to  the  men  of  the  crusad- 
ing days.  The  knights  of  King  Arthur  had  journeyed 
and  had  fought  for  religious  gain ;  so  would  they,  too, 
journey  and  fight  that  they  might  attain  the  heaven  whose 
gates  would  open  wide  to  the  man  who  had  striven  to 
win  the  earthly  Jerusalem.  As  men  heard  the  story  of 
the  Grail,  they  were  eager  for  the  crusade ;  and  all  who 
longed  to  make  the  great  journey  listened  the  more  in- 
tently to  the  words  of  the  poet. 

SUMMARY 

Henry  II.  ruled  his  wide  domains  well.  He  tore  down  the 
castles  of  the  tyrannous  barons  and  brought  order  into  the 


7^ 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1189-1199 


land.  His  offer  to  receive  scutage  struck  a  blow  at  feudalism. 
He  substituted  what  developed  into  trial  by  jury  for  trial  by 
combat,  and  he  strove  to  treat  all  men  as  equal  before  the 
law.     In  this  reign  the  English  conquest  of  Ireland  began. 


6.  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion,     1189-1199 
65.  The  ideal  gentleman.     The  ideal  gentleman  of 
that  day  was  the  knight.     He  must  serve  a  long  appren- 
ticeship in  some  friendly  castle,  first,  as  a  page,  whose 

business  was  above  all 
things  to  learn  to  be 
obedient  and  courte- 
ous. Then  he  became 
a  squire,  and  his  duty- 
was  to  attend  upon 
the  lord  of  the  castle, 
carve  his  meat  and  fill 
his  wine-cup,  carry  his 
shield  or  helmet,  give 
him  a  lance  if  his  was 
broken  in  a  tourna- 
ment, help  him  to 
mount  if  he  was 
thrown  from  his  horse 
in  his  heavy  armor, 
and  drag  him  out 
of  battle  if  he  was 
wounded. 

QQ.  Ceremony  of 
becoming  a  knight.  After  seven  years  as  a  squire,  he 
himself  might  become  a  knight,  but  he  must  first  spend 
a  day  and  a  night  in  a  church,  fasting  and  praying. 
Then,  in  the  presence  of  his  friends  and  others,  he 
solemnly  promised  to  be  loyal  to  the  king,  to  defend 


A   SQUIRE   BECOMING   A    KNIGHT 
Girding  on  of  the  sword  and  fastening  of  the  spurs 


1 189]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR  PLANTAGENETS  ^^ 

the  church,  and  to  protect  every  lady  that  might  need 
his  aid.  After  he  had  promised,  some  lady  of  high  rank 
buckled  on  his  spurs  and  girded  on  a  sword  that  had 
been  blessed  by  the  priest.  Then  the  prince  or  some 
noble  struck  him  lightly  on  the  shoulder  with  the  flat 
of  the  sword,  saying,  "  In  the  name  of  God,  Saint 
Michael,  and  Saint  George,  I  dub  thee  knight.  Be  brave, 
ready,  and  loyal."  Young  noblemen  became  knights  as 
a  matter  of  course,  and  no  one  thought  highly  of  even  a 
king  unless  he  had  all  the  knightly  virtues  and  accom- 
plishments. 

67.  The  good  and  the  bad  in  knighthood.  In  some 
ways  knighthood  was  good.  Men  were  more  interested 
in  fighting  than  in  anything  else,  and  this  training  taught 
them  not  to  be  so  brutal  in  their  fighting,  to  be  generous 
to  their  enemies,  to  be  courteous  to  women,  to  respect 
age  and  authority,  and  to  care  for  music  and  poetry. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  knight  was  not  required  to  be 
courteous  to  people  of  lower  rank  than  himself,  and  he 
was  as  rough  as  ever  when  he  was  dealing  with  those 
whom  he  thought  his  inferiors.  It  is  stated  that  at  a 
great  tournament,  or  mock-fight,  in  which  three  thou- 
sand men  contended,  the  knights  that  were  hurt  were 
taken  care  of,  but  no  one  thought  it  worth  while  to  do 
anything  for  those  of  their  humbler  followers  who  were 
wounded. 

68.  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion.  Richard,  King  Henry's 
third  son,  was  an  ideal  knight,  and  although  he  was  an 
exceedingly  poor  king,  who^e  only  notion  of  ruling  a 
country  was  to  get  as  much  money  from  it  as  possible, 
yet,  because  he  was  a  brave  knight,  people  could  never 
praise  him  enough.  They  called  him  "  Coeur  de  Lion," 
or  the  "  Lion-Hearted,"  and  were  never  tired  of  singing 
songs  about  him  and  his  warlike  deeds.     He  reigned  ten 


78 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1 190 


Raising 
money. 

for   the 
bought 


years,  but  during  only  a  few  months  of  the  time  was  he 
in  England.  All  his  early  life  he  had  spent  in  France, 
and  he  could  not  even  speak  the  English  language. 

69.  Richard  as  a  crusader.  When  King  Henry  II. 
died,  Philip,  king  of  France,  and  Leopold,  duke  of  Aus- 
tria, were  planning  to  go  on  a  crusade. 
Richard  wished  to  go  with  them,  and  no 
sooner  had  he  been  crowned  than  he  set 
to  work  to  raise  the  necessary  funds. 
He  taxed  his  people  severely,  extorted 
money  from  the  Jews,  sold  bishoprics  and 
other  offices  to  any  one  that  would  pay 
for  them,  and  granted  various  privileges 

to  the  towns  for  large  amounts 

of  gold.    This  was  a  good  thing 

towns,  for  each  new  privilege 
of  the  king  was  described  in 
writing,  and  the  writing  was  signed  by 
him,  so  that  every  bit  of  parchment  that 
a  town  gained  made  it  a  little  more  free 
than  it  had  been  before. 

The  three  young  men  set  off  on  their  a  knight  templar 
crusade  with  a  great  flourish  of  banners     richard  i. 

and  long  trains  of  followers;  but  ^'Tu?" cSCal^^'"" 

they  had  not  been  many  weeks 
in  the  Holy  Land  before  Philip  began  to  feel  that  Richard 
was  gaining  all  the  glory  of  the  expedition.  Moreover, 
now  that  Richard  was  king,  he  was  not  so  yielding  as  he 
had  been  when  Philip  was  helping  him  to  conspire  against 
his  father.  The  result  was  that  Philip  went  home  and 
left  Richard  to  get  along  as  best  he  could.  Then 
Leopold  raised  his  standard  over  a  captured  city,  and 
Richard  tore  it  down,  saying  that  a  king's  standard  came 
before  a  duke's.     Richard  was  always  in  the  midst  of  his 


The  cru- 
sade falls, 


193]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS 


79 


men,  and  he  was  not  at  all  afraid  to  put  his  own  hands 
to  whatever  work  they  were  doing.  He  was  once  help- 
ing them  to  build  a  fort,  but  when  he  asked  Leopold  to 
join  in  the  work,  the  duke  was  angry  and  said  that  he 
was  neither  a  mason  nor  a  carpenter.  Richard  struck 
him,  and  he  went  home  in  a  rage.  The  English  king  had 
not  men  enough  to  conquer  the  Saracens,  so  he,  too,  had 
to  go  home.  He  went  on  his  way  sadly,  for  he  knew 
that  if  it  had  not  been  for  his  hot  temper,  Jerusalem 
might  have  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Christians. 

On  the  way  home  he  was  wrecked  and  had  to  go 
through  Austria,  and  although  he  was  in  dis-  Richard  is 
,  guise,  some  one  found  him  out.     Leopold  put  imprisoned, 
him  into  prison,  and  soon  gave  him  into  the  hands  ot 
the  emperor  of  Germany,  and  for 
a  long  while  no  one  knew  where 
he   was.     There  is  a  story  that 
a   minstrel    of    Richard's   court, 
named    Blondel,    roamed    about 
wherever   he    thought    his   king 
might  be.     He  would  sing  under 
the  window  of  every  prison  ;  and 
at  last,  when  he  stood  one  day 
by  a  gloomy  stone  tower,  singing 
a  song  that  he  and  Richard  had 
often  sung  together,  he  was  de- 
lighted to  hear  his  master's  voice 
take  up  the  air  and  sing  the  second 
verse. 

70.  Richard  is  ransomed. 
There  were  two  men  who  were 
anxious  to  keep  Richard  in  prison. 
One  was  Philip  of  France,  for 
he  thought  that  if  Richard  was 


RICHARD   1.   IN    PRISON 


8o  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1190-1199 

a  prisoner,  he  himself  would  have  a  good  opportunity 
to  get  possession  of  Normandy ;  and  the  other  was 
Richard's  younger  brother  John,  for  he  thought  that  if 
Richard  was  out  of  the  way,  no  one  would  interfere  with 
his  own  rule  in  England.  These  two  men  went  about 
their  schemes.  Philip  accused  Richard  of  various  crimes, 
and  John  offered  the  emperor  twenty  thousand  pounds  a 
month  to  keep  his  brother  in  confinement.  Richard, 
however,  soon  proved  his  innocence  of  the  crimes,  and 
the  emperor  agreed  to  set  him  free  for  a  ransom.  This 
ransom  was  so  large  that  it  was  hard  for  England  to 
find  the  money,  but  the  English  were  proud  of  their 
crusader  king,  and  it  was  raised.  Richard  returned  to 
England  for  a  short  time  and  received  a  hearty  welcome 
from  his  subjects,  for,  however  he  might  extort  money 
from  them,  he  was  still  their  ideal  knight. 

71.  Richard's  character.  A  story  told  of  the  last 
scene  of  his  life  is  characteristic  of  him  in  his  cruelty, 
his  generosity,  and  his  determination  to  get  what  he 
thought  was  *his  own.  Treasure  had  been  found  in  the 
land  held  by  one  of  his  vassals,  who  refused  to  follow 
the  custom  and  give  it  up  to  the  king.  Richard  besieged 
the  castle,  and  would  not  grant  any  terms  of  surrender. 
When  the  castle  fell,  he  ordered  every  man  to  be  hanged 
excepting  the  archer  who  had  wounded  him.  This  man 
was  brought  into  his  presence,  and  the  king  asked : 
"  How  have  I  harmed  you,  that  you  should  kill  me  } " 

The  young  man  replied  stoutly :  "  My  lord  king,  you 
killed  my  father,  you  killed  my  two  brothers,  and  you 
meant  to  kill  me.  Revenge  yourself  on  me  as  you  will, 
since  at  last  you  have  come  to  your  end  after  you  have 
for  so  many  years  inflicted  evil  upon  the  world." 

The  king  had  long  before  forgiven  his  treacherous 
brother  John,  and   now,  though   he  was   suffering   in- 


II99]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS 


81 


tensely  from  the  wound,  which  he  knew  would  end  his 
life,  he  was  still  generous  and  bade  his  soldiers  set  the 
young  man  free. 


MILITARY  AND   CIVIL   COSTUME   IN   THE  TIME  OF  RICHARD  I. 


SUMMARY 

The  knight  was  the  ideal  gentleman  of  the  time,  and  Rich- 
ard was  the  ideal  knight.  The  story  of  his  reign  circles 
around  his  career  as  a  crusader.  To  raise  money  for  the 
crusade,  he  sold  many  privileges  to  the  wealthy  towns,  so 
that  at  the  end  of  his  reign  of  ten  years  they  held  as  their 
most  valued  possessions  charters  which  secured  to  them  a 
great  increase  of  liberty. 


82  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [i  199-1207 

7.  John  Lackland.     1199-1216 

72.  The  murder  of  Arthur.  Richard  had  left  no 
children,  and  now  John,  youngest  son  of  Henry  IL,  be- 
came king,  though  no  one  really  wished  to  have  him  for 
a  ruler.  A  brother  older  than  John,  had  left  a  boy, 
named  Arthur,  for  King  Arthur  of  the  Round  Table,  but 
he  was  only  twelve  years  old,  and  the  chief  men  of  Eng- 
land  were  afraid  that  there  would  be  war  if  a  child  was 
on  the  throne.  John  was  jealous  of  Arthur,  and  in  three 
or  four  years  the  boy  disappeared  so  suddenly  that  peo- 
ple felt  sure  that  John  had  murdered  him. 

It  had  long  been  the  custom  for  the  king  of  France  to 
be  a  sort  of  overlord  of  the  French  lands  of  the  duke  of 
Normandy,  though    sometimes   the   duke  was 
punisii-        the  more  powerful  of  the  two  men.     Philip  now 
""^^  sent  a  formal  summons  to  John,  as  duke  of 

Normandy  and  therefore  vassal  of  the  French  king,  to 
appear  before  the  French  court  to  answer  for  the  murder 
of  Arthur ;  and  as  he  did  not  come,  Philip  punished 
hirn  by  taking  possession  of  more  than  half  of  the  Eng- 
lish king's  lands  in  France.  It  is  perhaps  because  of 
this  that  John  received  his  nickname  of  "  Lackland." 

73.  John's  quarrel  with  the  church.  John's  next 
trouble  was  with  the  church.  The  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury had  died,  and  it  was  a  question  whether  the  man 
that  the  king  chose  or  the  man  that  the  Pope  chose 
should  have  the  position.  The  Pope's  choice  was  Ste- 
phen Langton,  an  upright,  learned  man  of  sound  judg- 
ment and  utter  fearlessness  of  spirit.     John  refused  to 

receive  him.      The  Pope  placed  the  kingdom 

under  an  interdict.     The  churches  were  draped 

with   black,   and   their   doors   were   closed.     The   dead 

could  not  be  buried  in  consecrated  ground,  and  no  mar- 


I2I3]       THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  83 

riage  could  be  solemnized  within  the  walls  of  the  church. 
This  was  the  state  of  England  for  four  years.  Then  the 
Pope  excommunicated  the  king,  and  commissioned  Philip 
to  seize  the  English  crown.  At  this,  John  yielded,  and 
was  ready  to  make  any  promise  and  pay  any  amount,  if 
only  he  might  keep  his  position. 

74.  John's  cruelty  and  injustice.  Philip  could  have 
made  very  little  trouble  for  John  if  the  English  king  had 
not  all  this  time  been  treating  his  subjects  so  badly  that 
some  of  them  began  to  think  they  would  rather  have 
Philip  for  a  ruler,  and  no  one  knew  whether  they  would 
stand  by  their  king  or  not.  The  charters  that  had  been 
given  to  London  and  to  other  cities  John  had  refused 
to  respect,  and  he  had  forced  many  of  the  barons  to  give 
him  large  sums  of  money.  The  Jews  especially  had 
suffered  in  his  determination  to  get  their  wealth.  There 
is  a  record  that  one  of  them  had  borne  agonizing  torture 
without  yielding  to  the  unjust  demands  of  the  king,  and 
finally  John  ordered  one  of  his  victim's  teeth  to  be 
knocked  out  every  day  until  he  should  give  up  his  gold. 
The  poor  man  submitted,  after  losing  a  tooth  every  morn- 
ing for  seven  days.  John  had  been  as  rapacious  with 
the  poor  as  with  the  rich,  for  he  would  even  take  away 
a  man's  tools  by  which  he  earned  his  bread,  if  the  man 
could  not  pay  the  sum  demanded.  Men  had  been  put 
into  prison  and  refused  a  trial.  Indeed,  the  only  sure 
way  to  win  a  case  was,  not  to  have  a  just  cause,  but  to 
make  the  king  a  present  of  money,  horses,  a  suit  of 
clothes,  or  even  poultry  or  fish  ;  for  this  king,  who  would 
extort  so  great  sums  from  the  rich,  did  not  scorn  the 
smallest  trifles,  if  a  man  could  be  forced  to  give  nothing 
more.  In  punishing  any  misdeed,  he  would  demand  as 
large  a  sum  as  could  be  forced  from  the  man  accused. 
He  taxed  people,  not  by  any  regular  law,  but  for  as  much 
as  he  could  get. 


84  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1213-1215 

75.  John  asks  for  absolution.  When  Archbishop 
Langton  came  to  England,  John  went  to  him  to  ask  for 
absolution,  or  the  pardon  of  the  church.  The  archbishop 
had  learned  just  how  John's  subjects  were  suffering 
from  his  cruel  treatment,  and  he  boldly  refused  pardon 
until  the  king  should  promise  to  obey  the  laws  of  his 
ancestors  and  treat  his  people  justly. 

76.  Quarrel  with  the  barons.  John  promised  with- 
out a  moment's  hesitation,  but  he  soon  showed  that  he 
had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  keeping  his  word.  The 
fearless  archbishop  called  together  the  clergy,  barons, 
and  other  prominent  men  to  meet  in  a  church  in  London. 
When  the  other  business  of  the  meeting  was  ended, 
Langton  told  some  of  the  barons  that  he  had  found  the 
charter  that  Henry  I.  had  given  to  his  people  a  century 
before. 

The  barons  seemed  to  have  forgotten  all  about  this 
charter,  and  they  were  delighted  to  find  that  they  had 
The  lost  ^^  good  a  weapon.  "When  King  John  sees 
charter.  this,"  said  they,  "he  will  never  dare  to  refuse 
what  his  great-grandfather  promised  so  long  ago."  Then 
the  charter  was  read  aloud,  and  there  before  the  altar 
the  barons  and  the  archbishop  promised  one  another  that 
they  would  stand  by  their  rights.  These  barons  were 
much  more  patient  than  those  of  the  days  of  William  the 
Conqueror,  for  they  agreed  to  wait  one  year  to  see  if  the 
king  would  not  improve. 

The  year  passed,  and  then  they  again  met  in  a  church 
and  took  a  solemn  oath  that  if  the  king  refused  them 
Theharons'  justice  they  would  make  war  upon  him.  Even 
oath.  after  this  they  waited  until  Christmas.     Then 

they  went  to  John  and  asked  him  to  repeat  before  the 
nation  the  promises  that  he  had  made  to  Langton  when 
he  received  absolution.     John  was  badly  frightened,  but 


I2I5]       THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  85 

he  contrived  to  put  them  off  till  Easter.  He  thought 
that  there  would  be  some  way  out  of  the  trouble  by  that 
time ;  but  at  Easter  he  was  in  an  even  more  hopeless 


MAGNA   CARTA    ISLAND,    RUNNYMEDE. 

condition  than  before,  for  now  there  was  a  great  army 
all  ready  to  fight  against  his  tyranny. 

What  could  he  do  .?     A  king  who  would  treat  his  sub- 
jects so  unjustly  would  not  hesitate  to  deceive  them ; 
and  when  John  found  that  he  must  yield,  he  j^^ 
sent  a  polite  message  to  the  barons,  saying  that  y^^^^- 
he  was  willing  to  meet  them  wherever  they  wished  and 
to  promise  them  whatever  they  desired. 

77.  June  15,  1215.  Magna  Carta.  The  barons  re- 
quested him  to  come  to  Runnymede,  a  meadow  on  the 
Thames  near  Windsor,  and  there,  June  15,  121 5,  he 
signed  his  name  and  affixed  his  seal  to  a  piece  of  parch- 
ment that  is  now,  brown,  shriveled,  and  torn,  in  the 
British.  Museum.     This  is  the  famous  Magna  Carta,  or 


86 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1215 


Great  Charter,  and  just  as  the  charters  of  towns  secured 
for  them  many  rights,  so  this  secured  for  the  whole  Eng- 
lish nation  the  right  that  their  ruler  should  treat  them 
justly. 

The  people  were  dehghted,  for  they  hoped  that  John 
would  keep  his  word,  and  that  England  would  now  be 
happy  and  peaceful ;  but  the  king  went  into  a  perfect 
fury  of  rage.  He  threw  the  furniture  about,  and  rolled 
over  the  floor  like  a  madman,  gnashing  his  teeth  and 
biting  at  sticks  and  straws. 

What  were  these  promises  which  John*  had  to  sign 
and  which,  he  said,  made  him  "  no  longer  a  king  but  a 
The  pro-  slave  "  .-*  One  was  that  he  would  not  delay  jus- 
Magna'  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  bribes ;  another,  that  all  fines  for 
Carta.  misdeeds  should  be  fixed  by  law ;  another,  that 

he  would  impose  no  taxes  without  the  consent  of  his 
council ;  another,  that  he  would  give  up  his  custom  of 
seizing  a  large  share  of  the  property  that  any  noble  left 
when  he  died,  for  before  this,  John  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  taking  as  much  as  he  chose,  and  if  there  were  young 
children,  he  would  take  nearly  all  the  income  of  the  estate 


C5xue9 


FACSIMILE   EXTRACT   FROM   MAGNA   CARTA 


I2i6]       THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  87 

till  the  children  were  grown  up.  The  most  important 
pledge  was  that  no  free  man  should  be  imprisoned  or 
punished  in  any  way  except  by  the  lawful  judgment  of 
his  equals.  The  barons  on  their  part  promised  that  they 
would  treat  their  vassals  just  as  they  had  made  the  king 
agree  to  treat  them. 

*  The  barons  feared  that  John  would  not  keep  his  pro- 
mises, so  they  had  drawn  up  another  paper  giving  them 
the  right  to  take  his  castles  and  lands  and  an-  ^he 
noy  him  by  every  means  in  their  power  if  he  ovwiords- 
broke  his  word.  And  John  had  to  sign  this  too  !  Twenty- 
five  overlords  were  specially  appointed  to  keep  watch  of 
him.  This  charter  was  sent  throughout  the  kingdom 
and  was  read  aloud  in  all  the  churches. 

78.  John's  revenge.  John  was  in  a  fury  and  went  off 
to  the  Isle  of  Wight  to  think  what  he  could  do  to  revenge 
himself  on  the  barons.  No  one  in  England  would  help 
him,  so  he  sent  to  the  Continent  and  hired  foreign  sol- 
diers to  come  over  and  fight  for  him.  At  first  this  plan 
seemed  to  be  successful,  for  by  their  aid  he  took  several 
strong  castles  from  the  barons ;  but  it  was  worse  for  him 
in  the  end,  for  these  soldiers  were  so  cruel  and  wicked 
that  the  whole  English  nation  hated  John  more  than 
ever  for  bringing  such  people  into  the  land. 

79.  The  Dauphin  comes.  Again  the  barons  met,  and 
this  time  they  were  in  such  despair  that  they  could  think 
of  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  invite  the  Dauphin,  eldest 
son  of  King  Philip  of  France,  to  be  their  ruler.  He  had 
married  John's  niece,  so  they  tried  their  utmost  to  feel 
that  he  would  really  be  an  English  king.  The  Dauphin 
was  delighted  to  come,  but  he  and  his  men  behaved  worse 
than  the  other  foreign  soldiers.  They  took  possession  of 
goods  and  castles,  and  even  began  to  think  of  banishing 
the  barons  who  had  invited  them  to  come. 


88  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1199-1216 

80.  John's  death.  Between  John  and  the  French- 
men the  barons  hardly  knew  what  to  do,  but  just  then 
John  suddenly  died.  It  is  said  that  when  he  was  cross- 
ing a  dangerous  place  on  the  seashore,  a  high  tide  swept 
away  quantities  of  the  treasure  that  he  was  carrying  with 
him,  and  that  even  his  crown  went  under  the  waves. 
John  had  not  been  in  the  least  penitent  for  the  wrong* 
that  he  had  done  his  people,  but  he  was  so  sorry  to  lose 
his  treasure  that  he  fell  into  a  fever  and  died. 

Wicked  man  as  John  was,  it  was  an  excellent  thing  for 
England  that  he  had  been  its  king,  for  if  a  man  only  half 
as  bad  had  stood  in  his  place,  the  barons  w^ould  not  have 
been  aroused  to  make  him  sign  the  Great  Charter.  Sev- 
eral kings  since  the  days  of  John  have  tried  to  deal 
unjustly  with  the  nation,  but  in  the  end  the  English  peo- 
ple have  either  driven  them  from  the  throne,  or  made 
them  yield  and  keep  the  promises  of  the  Charter. 

SUMMARY 

John's  supposed  murder  of  his  nephew  brought  about  the 
loss  of  the  French  lands,  a  loss  that  was  a  gain,  for  the  interest 
of  the  Norman  barons  became  more  fully  centred  in  Eng- 
land, and  they  began  to  see  that  what  was  to  the  advantage  of 
the  English  was  also  to  their  advantage.  John's  tyranny  and 
injustice  led  to  revolt  on  the  part  of  the  barons,  and  his  quar- 
rel with  the  church  gave  to  the  barons  a  fearless  leader  in 
Archbishop  Langton.  The  result  of  the  struggle  was  that 
John  was  forced  to  sign  Magna  Carta.  This  charter  is  the 
token  not  only  of  successful  resistance  to  tyranny,  but  of  a 
realization  that  the  interests  of  church,  nobles,  and  people 
were  one. 

8.    Henry  III.     1216-1272 

81.  The  child  king.  The  only  member  of  the  royal 
family  left  to  inherit  the  crown  was  a  little  boy  named 


I2I6-I227]     THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS   89 

Henry,  who  was  but  nine  years  old.  Before  this  time  it 
had  never  occurred  to  any  one  that  it  would  answer  at  all 
to  choose  a  child  for  king ;  but  now  the  English  must 
either  choose  him  or  else  take  some  one  not  a  member  of 
the  family  that  had  ruled  them  for  so  long.  They  chose 
the  child,  and  crowned  him  with  a  little  circlet  of  gold, 
for  the  heavy  crown 
that  had  been 
washed  away  into 
the  sea  had  not 
been  found. 

This  Henry  HI. 
was  a  gentle,  amia- 
ble boy,  but  rather 
dull  and  slow.  All 
laws  were  made  in 
his  name,  but  the 
barons  were  the  real 
rulers  until  he  was 
eighteen.  There 
was  no  especial 
trouble  in  getting 
rid  of  the  Dauphin, 
and,  indeed,  mat- 
ters in  general  went 
on  very  well  until 
Henry  was  of  age,  though  one  law  that  the  barons  made 
would  have  greatly  astonished  William  the  Conqueror. 
This  was  that  no  one  should  be  punished  by  death,  even 
if  he  did  go  hunting  in  the  royal  forests. 

82.  Henry's  character.  As  soon  as  Henry  had  full 
power  in  his  own  hands,  England  began  to  have  a  hard 
time  again,  for  he  would  gratify  his  desire  for  display 
whether  his  subjects  were  pleased  or  not.     When  his 


CORONATION    OF    HENRY    III. 
The  king  is  represented  as  holding  a  model  of  Westmin- 
ster Abbey,  which  he  enlarged  and  beautified.    The 
other  two  figures  are  the  bishops  of  Winchester  and 
Bath. 


90  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1227-1258 

sister  married  the  emperor  of  Germany,  Henry  gave  her 
such  splendid  jewels  and  dresses  and  horses  and  golden 
dishes  that  people  stared  in  amazement  that  even  an 
empress  should  have  such  magnificence.  Of  course  the 
English  had  to  pay  for  all  the  lavishness,  and  when,  the 
very  next  year,  their  king  himself  married,  the  demands 
were  still  larger.  No  one  had  ever  heard  of  such  ex- 
travagance as  there  was  at  the  celebration  of  this  mar- 
riage. Two  or  three  years  later  a  royal  prince  was 
born,  and  then  the  king,  not  satisfied  with  the  generous 
presents  that  people  made  on  such  occasions,  actually 
sent  men  about  the  country  to  ask  for  gifts.  When  he 
wanted  money  some  years  after  this,  he  visited  the  homes 
of  his  subjects,  and  at  the  end  of  each  visit  he  would 
invite  his  host  to  make  him  a  present. 

If  this  Henry  IH.  had  been  a  king  of  whom  the  Eng- 
lish people  could  have  been  proud,  they  would  have  given 
to  him  as  generously  as  they  did  to  Richard;  but  his 
government  was  weak,  he  had  never  put  an  enemy  to 
flight,  and  the  clear-headed  Englishmen  began  to  realize 
how  foolish  it  was  to  make  themselves  poor  that  such 
a  king  might  have  money  to  throw  away.  The  people 
were  long-suffering,  and  whenever  they  seemed  ready  to 
make  a  stand,  the  king  would  break  down  and  weep  and 
say  that  he  meant  them  no  wrong.  He  would  promise 
whatever  they  asked,  and  perhaps  he  really  meant  to 
keep  his  promises,  but  he  was  so  weak  that  he  broke 
them  at  the  first  temptation.  At  last  the  moment  came 
when  the  people  would  bear  no  more. 

83.  Opposition  to  Henry.  Henry  had  been  on  the 
throne  for  more  than  forty  years.  His  subjects'  indigna- 
tion had  increased,  because,  in  addition  to  all  his  other 
expenditures,  he  was  sending  to  the  Pope  much  larger 
sums  than  England  could  afford,  and  now  on  a  promise 


1265]       THE   ANGEVINS,   OR  PLANTAGENETS  QI 

that  one  of  the  English  princes  should  rule  Sicily,  Henry- 
had  agreed  to  give  the  Pope  a  great  amount  of  money 
to  help  to  make  a  conquest  of  the  island.  He  Thesiciuan 
called  Parliament  together,  brought  in  his  son  «i«®»tion- 
wearing  the  Sicilian  dress,  and  told  the  assembly  what 
an  honor  it  would  be  to  England  for  the  prince  to  be 
king  of  Sicily. 

This  was  not  a  good  time  to  ask  for  so  much  money 
to  be  sent  out  of  the  kingdom,  for  the  English  were 
carrying  on  a  war  with  the  Welsh,  and  there  was  a  terrible 
famine  besides.  The  barons  refused  to  yield  to  Henry's 
demands,  and  finally  a  strong  party  was  formed  against 
him.  The  leader  in  this  opposition  was  Simon  simonde 
de  Montfort,  Henry's  brother-in-law.  The  crown  Montiort. 
prince  Edward  also  sided  with  the  people,  but  when  it 
really  came  to  war,  Edward  would  not  desert  his  father, 
and  he  led  the  royal  army. 

De   Montfort   and  the  people  won.     They  were  not 
fighting  to  get  rid  of  the  king,  but  to'  make  him  treat  his 
subjects  fairly ;  and,  instead  of  putting  him  off  the  throne, 
they  called  a  Parliament  in  his  name.     This  was  in  1265, 
and  the  assembly  was  different  from  all  previous  Parlia- 
ments, for  now  not  only  clergymen  and  barons, 
but  citizens  and  country  gentlemen,  were  asked  oftheHouse 
to  come  together  to  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  mons?" 
nation.     This  was  the  beginning  of  the  English  ^^®^- 
House  of  Commons,  the  representation  of  men  that  have 
neither  land  nor  rank. 

It  is  possible  that  Earl  Simon,  after  endangering  his 
life  by  heading  a  party  against  the  king,  may  have  felt 
that  he  was  justly  entitled  to  more  power  than 
the  other  barons.     At  any  rate,  they  became  Evesham. 

1265 

jealous,  and  a  league  was  formed  against  him  by 

Prince  Edward.     Of  course  there  was  fighting,  and  in 


92 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1265 


the  battle  of  Evesham  the  earl  was  slain.    An  old  ballad, 
probably  written  soon  after  the  battle,  says  :  — 

"  Full  cruelly  they  struck  that  day 
All  with  the  brandished  brand, 
But  in  the  end  Sir  Edward's  men 
They  got  the  upper  hand. 

"  But  by  his  death  Earl  Simon  hath 
In  sooth  the  victory  won, 
Like  Canterbury's  martyr  he 
There  to  the  death  was  done."  1 

This  ballad  shows  how  the  people  felt  toward  Simon  de 
Montfort.     When  the  battle  of  Evesham  was  raging,  so 


^^^^^S^^r^\ 


BUILDING   OPERATIONS   DURING    THE    REIGN    OF    HENRY    III. 
The  king,  to  the  left,  is  giving  directions  to  the  architect 

terrible  a  thunderstorm  suddenly  arose  that  the  monks  in 
the  abbey  could  not  see  the  words  of  the  psalms  they 
^  F.  York  Powell's  version. 


I307]       THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  93 

were  singing,  and  the  soldiers  had  to  stop  fighting  be- 
cause they  could  not  see  their  foes.  Thousands  of  people 
thought  this  storm  was  sent  to  show  that  God  was  angry 
because  the  earl  had  been  slain ;  and  so  many  began  to 
look  upon  him  as  a  saint  that  a  law  was  actually  passed 
forbidding  any  one  to  say  that  miracles  had  been  wrought 
at  his  grave. 

84.  De  Montfort's  work.  Although  to  one  looking 
on,  it  might  have  seemed  as  if,  now  that  the  earl  was  dead, 
his  work  was  lost,  yet  his  bold  claim  that  men  without 
either  land  or  rank  had  a  right  to  be  represented  in  the 
government  was  a  long  step  forward  in  securing  to  the 
people  the  freedom  of  thought  and  speech  that  did  so 
much  to  render  tyranny  powerless. 

SUMMARY 

Just  as  the  wickedness  of  John  aroused  the  opposition  that 
resulted  in  Magna  Carta,  so  the  folly  and  extravagance  of 
Henry  III.  called  forth  a  demand  for  the  representation  of  the 
people  in  Parliament.  By  the  efforts  of  Simon  de  Montfort, 
citizens  and  country  gentlemen,  as  well  as  nobles  and  great 
landowners,  were  asked  to  meet  to  discuss  the  affairs  of 
the  nation.  From  this  beginning  the  House  of  Commons 
developed.  • 

9.  Edward  I.     1 272-1 307 

85.  The  children's  crusade.  When  Henry  HI.  died, 
his  brave  son  Edward  was  in  the  Holy  Land  on  a  cru- 
sade. These  expeditions  had  been  going  on  ever  since 
the  days  of  William  Rufus.  Great  numbers  of  the 
bravest  young  men  of  France  and  Germany  and  England 
had  been  slain.  Thousands  of  children  had  died  too,  for 
one  crusade  was  made  up  almost  wholly  of  children, 
many  of  them  not  more  than  twelve  years  "of  age.  These 
children  had  no  idea  of  fighting,  but  they  thought  that 


94  ENGLAND'S    STORY        [i2th-i4th  Cent. 

if  they  could  only  tell  the  unbelievers  about  Jesus,  they 
would  all  become  Christians. 

Many  of  the  children  ran  away  from  good  homes,  and 
sometimes  their  parents  did  not  dare  to  hold  them  back, 
for  they  thought  that  perhaps  God  wished  to  rescue 
Jerusalem  by  means  of  these  little  ones.  Few  of  the 
children  had  ever  been  far  from  home,  and  whenever  a 
village  came  in  sight,  they  would  ask,  "  Is  n't  it  Jerusalem 
yet.?"  They  sang  hymns  on  the  long  journey,  and  one 
of  them  we  sing  to-day,  beginning  :  — 

"  Fairest  Lord  Jesus, 
Ruler  of  all  nature.'* 

It  was  a  very  hot  summer,  and  many  died  of  the  heat. 
Then  in  crossing  the  Alps,  even  more  died  of  the  cold. 
The  children  thought  that  when  they  came  to  the  sea  a 
path  would  open  for  them,  but  the  waves  still  beat  upon 
the  shore.  Two  merchants  offered  to  take  them  over  the 
water  in  their  ships,  and  it  was  not  known  until  many 
years  later,  that  the  merchants  had  carried  them  away 
and  sold  them  as  slaves. 

86.  Gain  from  the  crusades.  The  crusaders  did  not 
gain  possession  of  the  Holy  Land,  but  yet  these  expedi- 
tions were  of  great  value,  for  people  learned  new  ways 
of  living.  They  learned  to  use  new  words  and  to  think 
new  thoughts.  Men  are  often  uncharitable  just  be- 
cause they  are  ignorant,  and  the  crusaders  learned  to 
look  more  kindly  upon  even  the  Saracens  with  whom 
they  had  fought,  for  they  had  seen  that  the  heathen  foes 
were  often  brave  and  truthful.  One  great  change  that 
the  crusades  helped  to  bring  about  in  England 
changes  was  in  regard  to  the  ownership  of  land.  Much 
of  the  land  of  the  kingdom  had  been  in  the 
hands  of  a  very  few  men,  who  were  called  lords  of  the 


1274]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  95 

manor  because  they  owned  large  farms,  or  manors. 
People  living  on  the  manors  were  not  permitted  to 
leave  them,  and  must  work  so  many  days  every  year  for 
the  owner.  When  these  lords  wanted  funds  for  a  cru- 
sade, they  were  glad  to  accept  money  instead  of  work, 
and  sometimes  they  would  allow  the  workmen  to  buy  a 
piece  of  land  for  themselves.  The  result  was  that  at 
the  end  of  the  crusades  many  owned  land,  and  all  these 
people  were  especially  anxious  to  have  a  good  govern- 
ment, for  they  began  to  feel  that  if  they  owned  a  piece 
of  England,  then  what  was  good  for  England  was  a  gain 
to  them. 

87.  England's  welcome  to  Edward.  The  English 
people  rejoiced  to  have  Edward  for  king.  He  had  fought 
against  their  champion,  to  be  sure,  but  they  felt  that  he 
really  sympathized  with  them  and  fought  only  to  support 
his  father.  Whether  he  was  dead  or  alive,  they  did  not 
know,  since  he  had  gone  to  the  far-away  east ;  but  as 
soon  as  Henry  HI.  was  buried,  the  chief  men  of  the 
kingdom  met  in  Westminster  Abbey,  and  in  the  hope 
that  Edward  was  living  they  took  a  solemn  oath  that  they 
would  be  true  to  him. 

When  he  returned  two  years  later,  they  gave  him  a 
most  princely  welcome.  For  more  than  two  weeks  every- 
body who  could  come  to  the  great  halls  in  London  was 
feasted  and  had  all  the  wine  that  he  could  drink.  The 
houses  were  bright  with  hangings  of  silk  and  tapestry. 
Rich  men  threw  money  from  their  windows  by  the  hand- 
ful, and,  strangest  of  all  the  ways  of  rejoicing,  five  hun- 
dred horses  were  let  loose  in  the  streets,  and  whoever 
chose  might  keep  one  for  his  own. 

88.  Edward's  reign  is  memorable  for  three  reasons. 
The  king  was  called  Edward  L,  for  people  counted 
only  from  the  time  of  the  Conqueror.     There  are  three 


96 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1272-1307 


reasons  why  his  reign  is  worth  remembering.     The  first 
is  that  before  its   close  he   had   adopted   the 

Repiesenta- 

uve  Parua-  ideas  of  the  dead  Simon  de  Montfort,  and  had 
™*"'  *  admitted  to  his  Parliament  representatives  of 
the  townsmen  and  of  the  lesser  landowners. 

The  second  is  that  he  conquered  Wales.  The  Welsh 
were  descendants  of  the  early  Britons  whom  the  Saxons 
Conquest  of  had  driven  to  the  west ;  and,  although  they  had 
Wales,  1282.  of  ten  been  obliged  to  pay  tribute,  they  had 
never  really  submitted  to  the  rule  of  an  English  king, 
and  they  had  a  prophecy  that  some  day  their  own  King 


PLANTAGENET  KING  AT  TABLE 


Arthur  would  come  back  and  help  them  to  drive  away 
the  invaders.  Edward  won  several  victories,  and  finally 
obliged  the  Welsh  to  acknowledge  him  as  their  ruler. 
Of  course  they  did  this  most  unwillingly,  but  matters 
seemed  a  little  better  when  Edward  told  them  that  he 


1290]        THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS         9/ 

would  give  them  a  prince  who  had  been  born  in  their 
land  and  who  had  never  spoken  a  word  of  The  Prince 
English.  Behold,  when  their  prince  was  pre-  o^waies. 
sented  to  them,  he  was  Edward's  baby  son,  who  had  been 
born  in  Wales  a  few  months  before  and  was  too  young 
to  speak  a  word  of  any  language.  He  was  called  Prince 
of  Wales,  and  that  is  why  the  eldest  son  of  the  English 
sovereign  usually  receives  that  title,  though  he  has  no 
more  power  over  Wales  than  over  any  other  part  of  the 
kingdom. 

The  third  reason  for  remembering  the  reign  of  Ed- 
ward is  his  attempt  to  conquer  Scotland.  This  was 
far  more  difficult  than  to  subdue  Wales.     In 

Attempt  to 

Scotland  there  were  the  descendants  of  a  people  conquer 
called  Scots,  who  had  long  before  come  from  ^*'*'^^^'^- 
the  north  of  Ireland  and  had  given  their  name  to  the 
country.  There  were  descendants  of  Picts  and  of  Danes  ; 
of  Englishmen  whom  William  the  Conqueror  had  driven 
from  their  homes ;  also  some  descendants  of  Normans. 
All  these  people  were  united  in  wishing  Scotland  to  be 
free,  but  they  took  an  unwise  step  which  put  them  into 
Edward's  power. 

The  Scotch  king  had  died,  leaving  no  children,  and 
thirteen  distant  relatives  claimed  the  throne.  Edward 
was  called  a  wise  ruler,  and  the  Scotch  asked  gr^ce  „ 
him  to  choose  among  the  thirteen.  He  replied  Bauioi? 
that  the  Scotch  must  first  acknowledge  him  as  overlord. 
They  agreed,  and  he  decided  in  favor  of  Balliol,  though 
a  man  named  Robert  Bruce  had  a  claim  that  many 
thought  equally  good. 

Soon  Edward  began  to  behave  so  much  as  if  he  him- 
self were  king  of   Scotland  that  even  Balliol  The  stone 
revolted.     Then  Edward  came  with  his  army,  o*scone. 
put  Balliol  from  the  throne,  and  subdued   the   Scotch. 


98 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1272-1307 


When  he  went  home,  he  carried  with  him  to  London  a 
stone  upon  which  the  kings  of  Scotland  always  sat  when 

they  were  crowned.  It 
is  called  the  Stone  of 
Scone,  and  the  people 
believed  that  it  was  the 
very  one  that  Jacob  had 
for  a  pillow  when  he 
dreamed  of  the  ladder 
and  the  angels ;  and  that 
it  had  been  carried  from 
Bethel  to  Egypt,  Spain, 
Ireland,  and  finally  to 
Scotland.  Edward  put 
it  into  a  chair  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  and  it 
is  on  this  stone  that  the 
king  of  England  sits  at 
his  coronation.  The 
only  comfort  that  the 
Scotch  had  in  its  loss 
was  an  old  prophecy 
that  wherever  the  stone 
was,  there  the  Scotch  should  rule. 

Scotland  was  not  conquered.  She  only  waited  for  a 
leader,  and  soon  a  brave,  strong  man  appeared  named 
William  William  Wallace.  He  knew  that  he  could  not 
Wallace.  ^gg^-  ^j^g  great  numbers  of  English  that  would 
come  against  him,  so  he  planned  to  starve  them  out,  and 
when  the  English  were  coming,  the  people  would  burn 
what  they  could  not  carry,  and  then  run  away.  After 
a  wjiile,  however,  the  great  English  army  overpowered 
the  few  Scotchmen.  Wallace  was  captured  and  put 
to  death. 


CORONATION    CHAIR    WITH    STONE    OF 
SCONE 


307]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS 


99 


The  heir  of  Robert  Bruce  was  his  grandson,  a  young 
man  by  the  same  name.     Edward  had  kept  him  at  the 
EngUsh  court,  but  one  snowy  morning  he  was 
missing.     There  were  footprints  of  horses  in   Robert 
the  snow,  but  they  pointed  toward  London,  and  ^'^*'®' 
no  one  guessed  that  the  wise  young  man  had  had  the 
shoes  put  on  reversed.     He  escaped  to  Scotland  and  was 
crowned.     At  first  he  had  to  hide  in  the  mountains,  but 
he  always  had  faithful  friends,  and  he  never  was  discour- 
aged.    After  a  while   he    began    to  be   successful,  and 
there  came  a  time  when  no   one  knew  whether  he  or 
Edward  would  conquer.     The  English  king  was  old  and 
feeble,  but  he  was  as 
•resolute   as   ever,  and 
he  set  out  to  subdue 
Scotland  once  for  all. 
Before  he  was  out  of 
England,  he  fell  ill  and 
died.     His  last  wishes 
were    that    his    bones 
should  be  wrapped  in 
an  ox-hide,  and  that  his 
son  —  the  one  who  had 
been  the  baby  Prince 
of      Wales  —  should 
carry     them     at     the 
head    of    the    English 
army      till      Scotland 
should     be     subdued. 
This    was    not    done, 
however,   for    Edward 
was  buried  with  his  forefathers  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

89.  Banishment   of   the   Jews.     1290.     About   the 
middle  of  Edward's  reign  he  banished  the  Jews  from  the 


WILLIAM    WALLACE 


ICX)  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1066-1307 

kingdom.  Thus  far  the  English  kings  had  allowed  them 
to  stay,  and  had  treated  them  less  cruelly  than  had  the 
kings  on  the  continent.  This  comparative  kindness  was 
not  for  the  benefit  of  the  Jews,  however,  but  simply 
because  they  seemed  to  know  how  to  amass  money  bet- 
ter than  other  people,  and  the  kings  found  it  convenient 
to  be  able  to  help  themselves  from  the  Jewish  hoard. 
When  the  Jews  made  loans,  it  was  always  doubtful 
whether  they  would  ever  see  their  money  again,  and  so 
to  make  up  for  this  risk,  they  charged  enormous  inter- 
est. The  English  now  claimed  that  this  high  rate  of 
interest  was  an  injury  to  the  country.  Then,  too,  many 
people  never  looked  at  a  Jew  without  thinking  of  the 
crucifixion  of  Christ,  and  fancying  that  even  the  Jews  of 
twelve  hundred  years  later  were  to  blame  for  it.  At 
any  rate,  they  were  driven  out  of  England,  sixteen  thou- 
sand of  them,  and  it  is  possible  that  no  other  deed  of  Ed- 
ward's reign  brought  him  so  much  praise  as  their  cruel 
expulsion. 

90.  Literary  progress.  In  the  two  centuries  since 
the  battle  of  Senlac,  the  English  people  had  made  much 
progress  in  freedom  of  thought.  They  had  also  made 
English  Is  Pi'ogress  in  their  manner  of  expressing  their 
enriched  by  thoughts.  The  French  had  found  it  quite 
worth  while  to  know  English,  and  the  English 
had  found  it  convenient  to  know  French.  More  and'' 
more,  however,  people  were  looking  upon  a  knowledge  of 
French  as  an  accomplishment  and  upon  English  as  the 
real  language  of  the  country.  This  English  had  been 
greatly  changed  since  the  days  when  the  minstrels  sang 
of  Beowulf,  and  one  of  the  changes  was  the  result  of 
borrowing  words  from  the  French.  Words  that  were 
nearly  alike  in  both  languages  were  pronounced  just  as  it 
happened ;  and  as  for  the  spelling,  they  were  spelled  in 


1066-1307]   THE  ANGEVINS,  OR  PLANTAGENETS    lOl 

whatever  way  came  to  mind  first.  In  order  that  those 
who  knew  but  one  language  might  understand,  the  cus- 
tom arose  of  using  two  words,  one  from  the  French  and 
one  from  the  English,  meaning  the  same  thing ;  and  that 
is  one  reason  why  our  English  of  to-day  has  so  many 
synonyms,  or  pairs  of  words  with  nearly  the  same  signifi- 
cation ;  such  as  cordial,  hearty ;  desire,  wish  ;  act,  deed ; 
humble,  lowly ;  confess,  acknowledge.  No  matter  how 
many  words  English  may  take  from  the  French  or  from 
any  other  language,  it  always  makes  them  wear  an  Eng- 
lish dress ;  for  instance,  telephone  is  from  the  Greek,  but 
we  say  telephones  and  telepJion-ing^  and  the  s  and  the 
ing  are  not  Greek,  but  English. 

The  books  that  were  written  were  chiefly  about  Eng- 
land and  her  history ;  some  of  this  history  is  true,  and 
some  of  it  goes  back  to  the  half -fabulous  days  ^ 
of   King  Arthur.      The    unwritten   literature,  the  real 
however,  is  far  more  attractive.     In  the  days 
of  the  weak  King  Stephen,  the  cruel  barons  robbed  the 
people  so  unmercifully  that  many  abandoned  their  homes 
and  went  to  live  in  the  forests.     Then  it  was  that  men 
began  to  make  ballads  about  bold  Robin  Hood,  ^^^^0. 
the  merry  outlaw  who  took  from  the  rich  and  ^''°'*- 
gave  to  the  poor,  who  played  all  sorts  of  pranks  on 
sheriffs  and  wealthy  bishops,  but  who  was  always  ready 
to  help  any  one  in  trouble. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  the  ballads  were  written, 
but  they  were  sung  throughout  the  land.  As  in  the 
days  of  Richard  a  minstrel  might  go  where  he  would 
and  always  find  a  hearty  greeting,  so  any  man  who 
could  sing  a  ballad  was  ever  a  welcome  guest.  People 
would  gather  in  groups  at  any  time  to  listen  to  him. 
The  ballads  were  on  well-known  old  stories,  or  on  any 
recent  event  that  struck  the  fancy  of  the  singer.     He 


I02 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[ I 066-1 307 


would  never  try  to  remember  how  another  man  had  sung 
the  song,  but  would  sing  what  chanced  to  come  to  his 
own  mind,  and  make  up  lines  whenever  he  forgot.  The 
song  changed  with  every  singer. 

The  accounts  of  early  England  that  were  written  in 

this  century  are  in- 
teresting, but  even 
though  the  monks 
that  wrote  them 
would  have  been 
greatly  shocked  at 
the  thought  that 
their  pages  of  digni- 
fied Latin  were  not 
valuable   as    the 


so 


A    BAND    OF    MINSTRELS 


street    songs,   it    is, 
after  all,  the  ballads 
that  are  the  real  English  literature  of  the  century,  the 
real  voice  of  the  masses  of  the  English  people. 


SUMMARY 

One  important  result  of  the  crusades  was  that  the  numbef 
of  people  holding  land  had  greatly  increased ;  another  was 
that  new  thoughts  and  a  wider  knowledge  had  come  to  Eng- 
land. In  this  reign  Wales  was  conquered ;  but,  owing  to  the 
brave  leadership  of  Wallace  and  then  of  Bruce,  Scotland  was 
only  partially  subdued.  Bigotry  and  narrowness  were  shown 
in  the  expulsion  of  the  Jews,  but  freedom  gained  in  the  rep- 
resentation of  all  classes  in  a  regularly  organized  Parliament. 

English  became  more  and  more  the  language  of  the  peo- 
ple. History  was  written,  but  the  best  English  literature  of 
the  period  was  the  unwritten  ballads. 


HISTORICAL   MAP   OF   SCOTLAND 


I04  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1307-1314 

10.  Edward  II.     1 307-1 327 

91.  Edward  II.  and  his  favorite.  Now  that  Edward 
I.  was  dead,  the  Prince  of  Wales  became  king  and  was 
called  Edward  II.  He  sat  on  the  throne,  but  the  real 
ruler  of  the  land  was  a  young  Frenchman  named  Piers 
Gaveston.  He  was  a  foolish,  frivolous  man,  and  Ed- 
ward I.  and  his  Parliament  had  banished  him  ;  but  almost 
the  first  thing  that  this  new  king  did  was  to  call  him 
back.  Then  Edward  had  the  unworthy  favorite  walk 
next  to  himself  at  the  coronation  ceremonies,  and  when 
the  king  went  to  France  for  his  bride,  he  made  Gaveston 
regent  during  his  absence.  He  gave  him  great  numbers 
of  costly  gifts,  jewels,  gold  plate,  and  all  kinds  of  beauti- 
ful things  ;  though  many  of  them  belonged  to  the  crown, 
and  he  had  no  right  to  give  them  away.  At  last  the 
country  would  bear  with  Gaveston  no  longer,  and  he  was 
banished  for  having  stolen  public  money  and  for  other 
crimes.  In  a  short  time  the  king  called  him  back,  and 
proclaimed  that  he  was  a  "true  and  loyal  subject."  The 
barons  were  not  convinced  of  that,  and  he  was  put  to 
death. 

92.  War  with  Scotland  continues.  All  this  time 
Robert  Bruce  was  growing  stronger,  and  at  last  he 
besieged  Stirling  Castle,  the  one  stronghold  in  Scotland 
that  remained  in  English  hands.  For  the  onl/  time, 
Edward  led  his  army  in  person.  It  was  a  large  army, 
and  Bruce  had  only  a  few  men,  but  every  Scotsman 
seemed  to  be  a  hero.  At  Bannockburn  their  leader 
dug  trenches,  or  pits,  in  the  way  by  which  the  English 
would  have  to  come.  Then  he^  planted  in  these  pits 
pointed  stakes,  and  spread  turf  and  rushes  over  them. 
Line  after  line  of  the  English  fell,  and  in  spite  of  the 
mighty  army  against  them,  the  Scotch  won  a  tremen- 


327]     THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  105 


dous  victory.    The  king  ran  to  save  his  life,  for  the  Scotch 
were  not  satisfied  with  one  victory,  but  pur-  Battle  oi 
sued  the  foe  even  across  the  border.     After  ^^^^^^' 
so  disastrous  a  defeat,  it  is  no  wonder  that   1314. 
the  English  were  ready  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace. 

93.  Edward  is  deposed.  Edward  had  other  favor- 
ites by  this  time,  and  they  were  as  frivolous  as  Gaveston. 
The  queen,  too,  had  a  favorite,  one  Mortimer ;  and  these 


STIRLIINL.    »„ASil.E 


two  came  over  from  France  with  an  army  and  drove  the 
king  into  Wales.  The  country  had  borne  all  that  it 
could  bear.  Parliament  met,  and  sent  commissioners  to 
the  king  to  demand  that  he  should  resign  the  crown  that 
he  had  worn  so  unworthily. 

It  must  have  been  a  most  impressive  scene.  Instead 
of  making  any  defence,  the  king  burst  into  tears  and 
thanked  Parliament  most  humbly  for  having  chosen  his 
son  to  take  his  place.  The  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Parliament  then  said :    "  In  the  name  of  all  the  people 


I06  ENGLAND'S   STORY  I1327-1377 

of  the  land,  I  renounce  the  oath  of  fealty  that  was  made 
to  you." 

To  order  a  king  to  give  up  his  crown  was  quite  a  new 
proceeding,  and  it  shows  plainly  how  the  power  of  kings 
had  decreased  and  the  power  of  their  subjects  increased 
that  any  Parliament  should  venture  to  make  such  a  de- 
mand.    What  would  William  the  Conqueror  have  said! 

Edward  was  taken  to  a  castle  and  kept  in  imprison- 
ment for  several  months.  Then  he  was  secretly  mur- 
dered, many  thought  by  his  wicked  wife  and  Mortimer. 

SUMMARY 

The  real  rulers  of  the  land  were  the  unworthy  favorites  of 
the  king.  After  the  defeat  at  Bannockburn,  Edward  was 
forced  to  make  a  treaty  with  the  Scotch.  The  queen  and  her 
favorite  drove  him  into  Wales ;  and  finally,  the  English  people 
exercised  for  the  first  time  their  right  to  depose  a  weak  and 
worthless  sovereign. 

II.  Edward  III.     1 327-1 377 

94.  Scotland  becoraes  independent.  Almost  the 
first  that  we  know  of  Edward  III.,  the  boy  of  fourteen 
who  was  left  in  1327  to  rule  the  kingdom,  is  that  the 
very  next  year  this  boy  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
army  and  marched  against  Scotland.  The  wise  leaders 
of  the  Scotch  proved  to  be  better  generals  than  the 
young  king  and  his  advisers,  and  it  is  said  that  the 
eager,  disappointed  boy  wept  bitterly  when  he  was  finally 
obliged  to  return  to  England  and  sign  a  treaty  acknow- 
ledging the  independence  of  the  Scotch. 

This  treaty  was  not  at  all  pleasing  to  the  people,  and 
they  blamed  the  wicked  queen  and  her  favorite  Mortimer 
for  bringing  it  about.  When  Edward  was  three  years 
older,  he  saw  that  he  must  no  longer  allow  the  pair  to 


1346]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS        107 

rule.  Mortimer  was  arrested,  and  Parliament  put  him 
to  death  as  a  traitor.  The  queen  was  imprisoned  in 
her  palace. 

96.  Cause   of   the   Hundred   Years'  War.     Just  as 
William  the  Conqueror  had  claimed  the  crown  of  Eng- 
land partly  on  the  ground  of  his  being  cousin  to  Edward 
the  Confessor,  so  this  Edward  III.,  when  he  was  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  laid  claim  to  the  crown  of  France  on 
the  ground  of  relationship  to  the  late  king.     He  even 
put  on  his  coins,  "  Edward  III.,  King  of  Eng-  p^^^g^ 
land  and  France."      His  chief  allies  were  the  aidsEng- 
people  of  Flanders,  and   the  reason  for  their 
friendship  was  because  they  wished  to  buy  wool. 

England  produced  large  quantities  of  wool,  but  did  not 
attempt  to  weave  any  except  coarse  cloths.  Flanders 
bought  the  wool,  made  fine  cloth,  and  sold  it  to  England. 
During  some  troubles  between  Scotland  and  England, 
France,  as  the  ally  of  Scotland,  had  seized  upon  English 
vessels  carrying  wool  to  Flanders,  and  this  had  stopped 
the  work  of  the  Flemish  weavers  and  had  greatly  injured 
the  business  of  the  country. 

A  war  to  secure  the  crown  of  France  for  the  ruler  of 
England  began,  and  did  not  end  for  a  century.  In  the 
first  few  years  of  this  struggle,  there  was  a  fierce  naval 
fight  and  also  a  great  battle  on  land,  and  the  English 
won  both.  The  naval  fight  was  off  the  mouth  of  the 
Schelde.  The  English  won  such  a  victory  that  no  one 
dared  to  tell  the  loss  to  the  French  king. 

96.  Edward  invades  France.  In  1346  Edward 
landed  in  France,  and  just  as  the  Conqueror  fell  when 
he  landed  in  England,  so  Edward  fell  when  first  he 
touched  his  foot  to  French  ground. 

"  Sir  king,  go  back  to  your  ship,"  his  men  pleaded. 
"  Land  some  other  day,  for  truly,  this  is  a  bad  omen  for 
us." 


io8 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1346 


Battle  ol 

Cr^cy. 

1346. 


"  Why  ?  "  asked  the  quick-witted  king.  "  It  is  a  good 
omen,  for  it  shows  that  the  land  herself  is  eager  to  re- 
ceive me." 

Onward  the  army  marched,  plundering  and  burning, 
and  sending  on  board  the  ships  much  treasure, 
and  all  the  prisoners  that  would  be  able  to  pay 
a  generous  ransom.  By  and  by  the  English 
came  to  Crecy,  and  there  a  battle  was  fought.  The 
French  had  many  more  soldiers  than  the  English,  but 
the  English  troops  were  well  trained  and  obeyed  orders, 
while  the  French  sometimes  obeyed  and  sometimes  did 
not.  Moreover,  the  English  had  a  good  position,  but 
the  French  had  the  sun  in  their  eyes. 

The  French  felt  sure  of  win- 
ning the  battle  because  they 
had  hired  fifteen  thousand  men 
from  Genoa  to  fight  with  cross- 
bows. These  Genoese  dashed 
forward  with  a  loud  cry ;  but 
the  English  stood  still.  They 
dashed  forward  again  with  a 
louder  cry,  but  not  an  English- 
man stirred.  They  came  the 
third  time,  and  now  they  shot. 
Then  the  English  archers 
stepped  forward  just  one  pace 
and  shot  a  storm  of  arrows.  A 
little  earlier  there  had  been 
a  shower,  which  had  wet  the 
strings  of  the  crossbows  that 
the  Genoese  used,  but  the  Eng- 
lish had  been  able  to  keep  their  strings  dry.  The  result 
was  that  the  arrows  of  the  Genoese  did  little  harm,  but 
every  English  arrow  counted.      Moreover,  the  English 


A   GENOESE   CROSSBOWMAN 
Winding  up  or  bending  his  crossbow 


1347]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  109 


could  shoot  much  more  rapidly,  for  the  Genoese  had  to 
wind  up  their  crossbows  with  a  crank  before  every  shot. 
The  French  ran,  and  the  English  pursued ;  and  then 
some  Welsh,  who  were  armed  with  short,  broad  knives, 
dashed  upon  the  fugitives,  and  the  day  was  won  for 
England. 

Edward's  son,  the  Black  Prince,  as  he  was  called,  per- 
haps from  the  color  of  his  armor,  was  on  the  ^he  Black 
field,  and   once  when  he  was   in  danger,  his  Priace. 
friends  appealed  to  the  king  to  come  to  his  aid. 

"  Is  he  thrown  from  his  horse  ?  "  asked  the  king. 

"  No,"  they  answered. 

"Then  let  him  win  his  spurs,"  said  the  king,  "and  the 
glory    of    the    victory 
shall  be  his." 

When  the  battle  was 
over,  the  king  kissed 
the  prince  and  said  :  — 

"  You  are  my  good 
son,  and  you  are  worthy 
to  keep  a  realm." 

It  is  possible  that 
cannon  were  used  in 
this  battle,  but  they 
were  very  small,  and 
hardly  did  more  than 
to  frighten  the  horses. 

After  the  battle  of 
Crecy,  the  English 
pushed  on  to  Calais  and 

besieged  the  town.    The  brave  defenders  held  out  for  a 
whole   year,    and    when    they    surrendered,    it   giegeoi 
was  only  because  they  were  starving.     Edward  Calais, 
was  so  angry  at  the  resistance  that  he  said  he  would 


AN   ENGLISH   ARCHER 


no 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1347-1356 


show  no  mercy  unless  six  of  the  principal  citizens  would 
come  forth  in  their  shirts,  bareheaded  and  barefooted  and 
with  ropes  about  their  necks,  that  he  might  do  with 
them  as  he  would.  The  people  of  Calais  wept  at  this 
hard  decree,  but  the  richest  man  in  the  town  said,  "  I 
will  be  the  first  to  risk  my  life  to 
save  the  people."  Five  others  fol- 
lowed, and  when  they  stood  before  the 
king,  he  bade  that  they  should  all  be 
hanged. 

Then  Queen  Philippa  fell  on  her 
knees  before  him  and  said  :  "  I  came 
over  the  sea  to  you  in  much  peril,  and 
no  boon  have  I  desired  of  you.  Now 
I  beg  that  in  the  honor  of  the  Son  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  and  for  the  love  of 
me,  you  will  have  mercy  on  these  six 
citizens." 

To  this  the  king  answered  :  "  Ah, 
lady,  I  wish  you  had  been  in  some 
other  place,  but  I  cannot  deny  you." 
Thereupon  the  queen  clothed  the  six 
men  and  feasted  them,  and  set  them 
free  to  go  back  to  their  own  city 
The  one  who  tells  us  this  story  and  many  more 
like  it  was  Queen  Philippa' s  secretary,  a  man 
named  Froissart.  He  lived  in  England  and 
in  France,  and  he  wrote  most  interesting  accounts  of 
what  he  saw  and  what  he  heard. 

After  Crecy  there  was  a  truce  of  several  years  ;  then 

Batueoi       ^^  ^3S^  Came  an  important  battle  at  Poitiers. 

Poitiers.       The  Black  Prince  was  in  command  and  cap- 

tured  the   French  king.     Froissart   says   that 

the  prince  treated  his  prisoner  with  the  utmost  courtesy, 


THE   BLACK   PRINCE 

From  the  effigy  on  his  tomb 
in  Canterbury  Cathedral 


again. 


Froissart. 


1348]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS         III 

even  waiting  on  him  at  table,  and  humbly  refusing  to  sit 
by  him,  saying :  "  I  am  not  worthy  to  sit  by  so  valiant  a 
man  as  your  actions  have  this  day  shown  you  to  be." 

97.  England's  new  idea.  England  was  exceedingly 
proud  of  the  victory  at  Crecy,  but  this  battle  gave  her 
more  than  glory,  it  gave  her  a  new  idea.  Before  this, 
people  had  always  thought  that  the  only  way  to  prepare 
a  man  for  battle  was  to  cover  him  with  a  heavy,  clumsy 
coat  of  mail,  set  him  on  a  horse,  and  put  a  lance  into 
his  hand.  When  they  saw  that  the  battle  of  Crecy  was 
won  by  men  who  had  neither  coat  of  mail,  spear,  nor 
horse,  they  discovered  that  in  battle  a  yeoman  is  as  good 
as  a  knight.  Before  this,  people  had  thought  that  the 
only  way  for  poor  folk  to  live  was  to  stay  on  the  manor 
of  some  knight,  because  he  had  a  horse  and  armor  and 
could  protect  them.  The  new  idea  that  had  come  to 
England  was  that  even  people  without  horse  or  armor 
could  protect  themselves. 

98.  The  Black  Death.  This  fact  alone  might  not  for 
a  long  time  have  made  any  general  change  in  the  way  of 
living,  but  two  or  three  years  later,  while  people  were 
slowly  beginning  to  take  in  this  new  thought,  a  terrible 
pestilence,  called  the  Black  Death,  swept  over  Europe, 
coming  last  of  all  to  England.  It  is  thought  that  nearly 
half  of  the  population  died.  In  some  of  the  cities  so 
many  were  dead  that  grass  grew  in  the  principal  streets  ; 
and  in  the  country  matters  were  even  worse,  for  some- 
times nearly  all  the  people  on  a  manor  died.  What 
caused  the  disease  is  not  known,  but  we  are  sure  that  it 
was  much  more  severe  than  it  would  otherwise  have  been 
because  the  houses  were  so  dirty  and  small  and  dark 
and  had  so  few  windows.  Piles  of  rubbish  and  puddles 
of  filthy  water  were  just  outside  the  doors.  In  the  city, 
the  streets  were  narrow,  there  was  no  drainage,  and  there 
was  not  even  the  good  air  of  the  country. 


112  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1348-1377 

99.  Some  results  of  the  French  wars  and  the 
Black  Death.  During  the  crusades,  as  has  been  said, 
the  lords  would  often  allow  their  tenants,  or  villeins,  as 
they  were  called,  to  pay  their  dues  in  money  instead  of 
in  work.  Even  then  some  that  might  have  been  free 
remained  on  the  manor,  because,  if  they  went  away, 
there  was  no  work  by  which  they  could  support  them- 
selves, since  all  the  other  manors  had  men  enough. 
People  had  learned  during  the  crusades  that  a  man  who 
was  born  a  villein  need  not  always  remain  a  villein. 
Crecy  had  taught  them  that  they  could  protect  them- 
selves without  the  help  of  a  knight ;  and  now  that  so 
many  had  died  of  the  Black  Death,  there  were  always 
manors  that  needed  workmen.  Moreover,  Queen  Phi- 
weavingoi  Hppa,  who  was  a  Fleming,  had  brought  men 
eMinteo-  from  Flanders  to  teach  the  English  how  to 
duoed.  weave  fine  woolen  cloth ;  so  that  now  if  a  vil- 
lein ran  away,  he  could  work  on  a  manor  for  money,  or 
go  to  a  city  and  learn  to  weave ;  and  there  was  an  old 
law  by  which  if  he  could  manage  to  stay  away  from  the 
manor  a  year  and  a  day,  he  was  free,  and  could  never  be 
obliged  to  return. 

There  was  so  much  work,  and  so  few  wished  to  work 
High  o^  the  manors,  that  wages  became  very  high. 

wages.  xhe  king  made  a  law  that  whoever  demanded 
more  pay  than  was  given  before  the  Black  Death  should 
be  imprisoned,  and  if  a  runaway  villein  was  caught,  he 
was  branded  on  the  forehead  with  an  F  for  fugitive. 
The  price  of  grain  had  risen  so  that  the  old  day's  wages 
would  not  support  a  man  for  a  day,  and  of  course  work- 
men demanded  more.  Poor  people  began  to  sympathize 
with  one  another  more  than  ever  before,  perhaps  because 
they  had  all  suffered  so  much  in  the  Black  Death,  and 
every  one  who  had  a  little  money  would  help  those  that 
had  none. 


1360]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  II3 


Many  ran  away  just  because  they  wanted  a  change. 
These  men  were  used  to  being  watched  all  the  joim  Bail's 
time  and  told  what  to  do  every  hour  of  the  day,  preaching, 
and  when  they  had  left  the  manor,  they  did  not  know 
what  to  think  or  how  to 
behave  with  so  much 
liberty.  They  became 
lawless,  and  soon  they 
began  to  feel  that  it 
was  an  injury  to  them 
that  others  were  richer, 
and  they  fancied  that  it 
was  only  fair  to  get  all 
that  they  could  from 
those  that  had  more 
than  they ;  many  of 
them,  therefore,  became 
beggars  and  robbers. 
A  man  named  John  Ball 
went  about  the  country 
preaching  that  property  ought  to  be  taken  from  the  rich 
and  divided  among  the  poor.     He  said  :  — 

"  How  are  these  lords  any  greater  folk  than  we } 
Ho>}v  do  they  deserve  wealth  any  more  than  we  ?  They 
came  from  Adam  and  Eve  just  as  we  did.  Why  should 
they  wear  velvet  and  fur  while  we  are  covered  with  rags  } 
Why  should  they  have  white  bread  and  wine  while  we 
have  oat-cake  and  water.?  Why  are  they  gentlemen 
any  more  than  we  .?  " 

Everybody  began  to  repeat  the  rhyme,  — 

*'  When  Adam  delved  and  Eve  span, 
Who  was  then  the  gentleman  .'*  " 

100.  Mistakes  of  the  church.  The  poor  especially 
were  feeling  much  interest  in  religious  matters.     They 


JOHN    BALL    PREACHING   FROM   HORSE- 
BACK 


114  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1327-1381 

had  suffered  in  the  Black  Death,  and  they  longed  for  aid 
and  comfort.  The  church  did  not  seem  to  realize  her 
opportunity  to  help  those  that  were  begging  for  help, 
but  went  on  gathering  in  large  sums  of  money  both  to 
keep  in  England  and  to  send  to  Rome.  Great  amounts 
were  given  to  foreign  clergymen  who  held  positions  in 
England,  though  they  had  never  seen  the  country. 
They  had  their  income  sent  to  them,  but  they  hired 
some  one  at  a  low  rate  to  do  the  work  of  the  parish. 

William  Langland,  who  seems  himself  to  have  been  a 
priest  and  to  have  spent  his  early  life  in  poverty,  wrote  a 
Piers,  famous  book  called  ''Piers  Plowman,"  in  which 

Plowman,  ^le  described  the  struggles  of  the  poor,  how 
much  they  had  to  suffer  from  cold,  and  how  hard  it  was 
for  them  to  save  enough  of  even  the  coarsest  food  to  last 
through  the  winter.  He  told  each  class  of  people  how 
they  might  become  better,  for,  unlike  John  Ball,  he  had 
no  wish  to  overturn  church  or  laws,  and  he  believed  that 
all  would  be  well  if  every  one  would  only  do  his  best. 
This  book  was  written  in  English,  though  many  French 
words  were  used  ;  and  long  before  the  end  of  Edward 
III.'s  reign  a  law  was  made  that  in  courts  of  justice 
all  cases  should  be  pleaded  in  English.  This  is  proof 
that  English  had  become  the  language  of  the  people  of 
England. 

SUMMARY 

Edward  was  forced  to  acknowledge  the  independence  of 
Scotland ;  but  he  laid  claim  to  the  throne  of  France,  and  this 
claim  led  to  the  Hundred  Years'  War.  The  victory  won  by 
the  yeomen  at  Crecy  showed  that  a  villein  need  not  depend 
upon  a  noble  for  protection.  The  Black  Death  gave  his  work 
on  the  land  a  greatly  increased  value,  while  the  manufacture 
of  fine  woolens  in  England  enabled  him  to  support  himself 


I38i]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  II5 

if  he  escaped  from  the  manor.  The  first  effect  of  these 
changes  was  a  large  increase  in  the  number  of  beggars  and 
robbers  ;  the  final  effect  was  the  overthrow  of  villeinage. 

12.    Richard   II.     1 377-1 399 
101.     The   Peasants'  Revolt   of  1381.      The   Black 
Prince  had  died  one  year  before  his  father,  and  again  a 
boy,  Richard   II.,  was  placed  on  the  throne.     Richard  ' 
was  the  son  of  the  Black  Prince,  and  was  as  brave  as  his 
father  and  his  grandfather  had  been.     Edward  III.  had  ^-o 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  army  when  he  was  only  /^^^ 
fourteen,  and  this  boy,  when  he  was  of  about  the  same 
age,  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  fearlessly  up  to  a  mob 
of  angry  men. 

This  is  the  way  that  it  came  about.  The  Hundred 
Years*  War  was  going  on  with  France,  and  there  was 
also  war  with  Scotland. ,  More  money  was  needed  than 
the  ordinary  taxes  would  provide.  Finally  a  new  plan 
was  tried,  and  that  was  to  tax  every  person  in  the  king- 
dom twelve  pence,  a  sum  that  would  be  equal  to  about 
as  much  as  a  laborer  could  earn  in  two  weeks.  People 
were  already  feeling  angry  and  indignant  with  the  nobles 
and  the  other  wealthy  men  of  the  land,  and  this  de- 
mand was  more  than  they  could  bear.  A  tax-  •^^at 
collector  insulted  the  daughter  of  Wat  Tyler,  a  '^y^®'- 
working  man,  and  in  a  moment  her  father's  heavy  ham- 
mer had  laid  him  dead  on  the  ground.  Crowds  came 
together  near  London,  and  crowds  came  together  all  over 
the  kingdom,  as  if  the  father's  blow  had  been  a  signal. 
Wat  Tyler  talked  to  them  about  their  wrongs,  and  John 
Ball  talked  to  them,  and  they  became  more  angry  every 
minute.  They  put  to  death  some  people  who,  they 
thought,  had  done  them  harm,  and  they  destroyed  some 
property.     They  were  especially  anxious  to  burn  the  lists 


Il6  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1381 

that  were  kept  on  every  manor  of  the  names  of  the  villeins 
and  the  work  required  of  each,  for  they  fancied  that  if 
these  lists  were  burned,  no  villein  could  be  forced  to  re- 
turn to  the  manor. 

Finally,  they  were  allowed  to  come  into  London,  for  so 
many  Londoners  sympathized  with  them  that  the  coun- 
Revoiter  cillorsdidnot  dare  to  attempt  to  shut  the  gates, 
enter  lest  the  sympathizers  should  do  harm  within 

the  city,  and  the  peasants  should  do  harm  out-- 
side  the  walls.  Once  in  the  city,  the  peasants  behaved 
remarkably  well  at  first,  but  before  night  they  drank 
quantities  of  wine,  and  then  they  became  so  excited  and 
furious  that  no  one  knew  what  would  happen  the  next 
morning. 

When  morning  came,  part  of  the  mob  left  the  city, 
and  then  sent  a  petition  to  the  king,  making  four 
requests  :  that  they  should  be  free  men  ;  that 
of  the  re-  even  their  leaders  should  not  be  punished  ;  that 
land  should  be  rented  at  a  uniform  rate ;  and 
that  they  might  buy  and  sell  wherever  they  chose.  The 
king  promised  to  grant  what  they  asked,  and  many  of 
them  went  home ;  but  some  had  stayed  in  London  and 
did  not  know  what  the  king  had  said.  The  more  violent 
of  the  insurgents  seem  to  have  been  among  those  who 
remained  in  the  city,  and  Wat  Tyler  was  with  them. 
He  had  no  idea  of  yielding,  and  he  threatened  to  strike 
down  the  mayor  of  London.  Wat  was  himself  struck 
down,  and  in  a  moment  his  followers  were  ready  to  shoot. 
Richard's  There  would  probably  have  been  a  terrible 
courage.  slaughter  if  the  boy  king  had  not  dashed  away 
from  his  attendants  to  the  front  of  the  mob,  and  called 
out,  "  I  am  your  king,  and  I  will  be  your  leader." 

The  mob  were  so  pleased  with  the  boy's  courage  that 
they  never   seemed  to  doubt  that  he  would   keep  his 


1381]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR  PLANTAGENETS 


17 


promises ;  and  perhaps  he  would  have  done  so  if  he  had 
been  free,  though,  when  he  promised,  he  did  not  know 
of  some  murders  that  the  mob  had  just  committed ;  but 
Parliament  utterly  refused  to  even  think  of  giv- 
ing up  villeinage,  and  punished  the  people  most   Peasants' 
severely.     It  is  said  that  fifteen  hundred  were 
executed.     So   ended   the  famous    Peasants'  Revolt  of 
1381. 

102.  John 
Wiolif,  It 
was  a  great 
mystery  how 
it  happened 
that  peasants 
all  over  the 
kingdom 
should  rise  at 
the  same  in- 
stant. The 
only  organiza- 
tion people 
could  think  of 
that  might 
have  brought 
this  about 
was  the  one 
framed  by  a 
clergyman 

named  Wiclif.     He  had  felt  that  there  was  much  in"  the 
church  and  in  the  priests  that  ought  to  be  reformed  ;  and 
one  thing  was  the  lack  of  the  teaching  and  help  that 
ought  to  have  been  given  to  the  humbler  peo-  «poor 
pie  of  the  land.    He  formed  bands  called  "Poor  ^J^iests." 
Priests  "  and  sent  them  throughout  the  country.     They 


JOHN   WICLIF 


Il8  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1380-1381 

wore  bright  red  cloaks  and  went  barefoot,  with  staff  in 
hand,  from  village  to  village,  preaching  the  gospel  to  the 
poor. 

That  would  hardly  have  raised  a  revolt,  but  Wiclif 
had  a  peculiar  doctrine  that  may  have  helped  to  do 
wicufs  harm.  He  said  that  God  owned  all  property, 
"doctrine  and  that  He  let  men  hold  it  if  they  would  serve 
domof  Him.  "Then,"  said  Wiclif,  "if  a  man  is  not 
^°^'"  serving  God,  he  has    no   right   to   property." 

Probably  Wiclif  meant  that  even  if  property  was  in  a 
man's  hands,  it  might  not  be  really  his  own  in  the  truest 
sense,  because,  if  he  was  not  trying  to  serve  God  with  it, 
his  wealth  would  do  him  no  real  good  ;  but  many  unthink^ 
ing  people  would  interpret  his  words  as  meaning  that  any 
one  might  take  away  a  man's  property  if  he  was  not 
making  good  use  of  it ;  and  as  the  masses  of  working 
people  were  then  feeling,  they  would  think  that  no  one 
who  had  more  money  than  they  could  be  using  it  pro- 
perly. 

Wiclif  will  always  be  remembered,  not  so  much  for  his 
connection  with  the  "  Poor  Priests  "  as  for  the  translation 
wiciii  of  the  Bible  into  English  which  was  made  by 
toe^Bibie!*  himself  and  his  pupils.  There  was  no  printing 
1380.  as  yet,  and    the  copies  were  exceedingly  ex- 

pensive. It  is  said  that  the  New  Testament  cost  an 
amount  equal  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to-day ; 
and  when  a  book  was  bought,  there  had  to  be  witnesses, 
and  as  much  formality  as  there  is  now  about  buying 
oostof  a  house.  Even  the  University  of  Oxford  is 
^^^^  said  to  have  had  for  its  library  only  a  few  manu- 

scripts kept  in  a  chest.  Of  course,  it  took  a  long  time 
to  copy  a  book  in  plain  writing ;  but  wealthy  people  often 
wished  for  books  whose  capitals  were  brilliantly  painted 
or  illuminated,  and  such  books  cost  a  great  deal  more. 


[340-1400]  THE  ANGEVINS,   OR  PLANTAGENETS   li^ 


The   colors  of  these   capitals   have  lasted  so  well  that 
they  are  to-day  just  as  beautiful  as  ever. 

103.  Chaucer.  Not  all  the  books  were  on  theology. 
Through  Richard's  reign  and  through  much  of  his  grand- 
father's before  him, 
a  famous  poet  lived, 
named  Chaucer. 
He  was  probably 
born  in  London, 
held  office  in  the 
court,  was  taken 
prisoner  in  war,  but 
was  soon  set  free. 
His  great  work  is 
a  long  poem  called 
the  "Canterbury 
Tales.'*  The  story 
of  it  is  that  he  starts 
to  go  on  a  pilgrim- 
age to  the  shrine 
of  Thomas  a  Becket 
at  Canterbury.  At 
the  Tabard  Inn  he 
finds  a  company  of 
men  and  women,  all  on  their  way  to  the  same  shrine, 
for,  he  says,  when  spring  comes,  people  long  The  Canter- 
to  go  on  pilgrimages.  The  inn-keeper  is  a  ^^ry  Tales, 
merry,  good-natured  man,  and  he  proposes  that  they  all 
go  together  and  tell  stories  on  the  way.  Then  on  their 
return,  whoever  has  told  the  best  story  shall  have  a 
good  supper  at  the  expense  of  the  rest. 

Chaucer's  book  is  made  up  of  the  stories  that  the 
pilgrims  told.  There  were  all  sorts  of  people,  a  knight, 
a  squire,  a  monk,  a  nun,  a  scholar,  a  cook,  a  sailor,  a 


GEOFFREY   CHAUCER 


120  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1384-1400 

parish  priest,  and  many  others ;  and  therefore  there  are 
all  sorts  of  tales.  In  those  days  it  was  thought  perfectly 
right  for  a  man  to  take  any  story  that  he  had  heard,  tell 
it  in  his  own  v/ay,  and  call  it  his ;  so  Chaucer  took  the 
plot  of  a  story  from  wherever  he  found  it,  but  it  is  his 
way  of  telling  a  tale  that  we  like  especially.  He  makes 
us  feel  as  if  we  had  really  seen  the  people  whom  he 
describes.     That  Chaucer,  who  spent  so  much  time  at 


A    GROUP    OF    CANTERBURY    PILGRIMS 


court,  should  have  written  his  poem  in  English  is  proof 
that  neither  Latin  nor  French,  but  English,  made  richer 
by  many  new  words  from  the  French,  had  become  the 
literary  language  of  the  land. 

104.  Rijchard's  marriage.     No   class  of   people  had 


1399]      THE   ANGEVINS,   OR   PLANTAGENETS  121 

been  very  fond  of  Richard.  The  rich  said  that  he  sym- 
pathized with  Wiclif  and  the  poor,  while  the  poor  were 
indignant  at  his  extravagance.  He  was  arbitrary,  and 
often  took  his  own  way  without  the  least  regard  to  the 
laws.  Even  what  he  did  with  the  best  motives  sometimes 
made  people  angry ;  for  instance,  when  his  wife  died,  he 
thought  that  it  would  make  peace  with  France  if  he 
married  the  little  eight-year  old  Isabella,  daughter  of  the 
French  king.  There  is  a  tradition  that  a  great  English 
noble  knelt  at  the  feet  of  the  little  girl  and  said  :  "  Fair 
lady,  by  the  grace  of  God  ye  shall  be  our  lady  and  queen 
of  England." 

Then  answered  the  child,  all  of  her  own  accord  :  "  Sir, 
an  it  please  God  and  my  lord  my  father  that  I  shall  be 
queen  of  England,  I  shall  be  glad  thereof,  for  it  is  showed 
me  that  I  shall  then  be  a  great  lady." 

The  marriage  ceremony  was  gone  through  with,  and  at 
the  marriage  feasts  the  child  queen  sat  beside  the  king. 
When,  near  the  end  of  his  reign,  Richard  left  her  to  go 
to  Ireland,  he  caught  her  up  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her 
and  said  :  "Adieu,  madam !  adieu  till  we  meet  again." 

105.  Richard  II.  is  deposed;     While  he  was  gone,  one 
of  his  cousins,  known  afterwards  as  Henry  IV.  of  Lan-  »^ 
caster,  appealed  to  Parliament  to  make  him  king  on  the 
ground  that    Richard    had   forfeited  the  throne  by  his 
tyranny  and  injustice.     Parliament  agreed  with  Henry. 
Richard  was  forced  to  abdicate,  and  Henry  was  chosen  / 
king.     There  was  a  little  boy  named  Edmund  Mortimer,  ^^ 
Earl  of  March,  who  was  descended  from  an  older  son  of    "' 
Edward  III.  than  the  son  from  whom  Henry  came,  but 
England  did  not  wish  to  put  the  crown  on  a  child's  head 
again,  even  if  he  had  a  better  hereditary  right.     It  may 
be  that  Parliament  was  wise,  but  this  decision  led  to  many 
long  years  of  warfare  and  bloodshed. 


£22 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1154-1399 


SUMMARY 

The  last  quarter  of  the  fourteenth  century  brought  about 
a  gain  in  the  condition  of  the  poor.  The  Peasants'  Revolt 
hastened  the  disappearance  of  villeinage.  Wiclif's  "Poor 
Priests  "  met  the  longings  of  the  people  to  know  more  of  re- 
ligion, and  his  translation  made  it  possible  for  an  Englishman 
to  read  the  Bible  in  his  own  language.  Chaucer,  last  of  the 
old  poets  and  first  of  the  new,  wrote  the  "  Canterbury  Tales," 
not  in  Latin,  but  in  English.  The  deposition  of  Richard  in 
favor  of  Henry  IV.  led  to  the  fiercely  contested  battlefields  of 
the  Wars  of  the  Roses. 


THE  ANGEVINS,  OR  PLANTAGENETS 

5.   Henry  II, 

(Plantagenet) 

I 154-1189 


6.   Richard  I. 

(Coeur  de  Lion) 

1189-1199 


Geoffrey 


Arthur 
(murdered  ?) 


jl    jj d^tfuc^^^-X  ^i     -^ 


7.   John 
(  Lackland) 
1 199-1216 

8.    Henry  III. 
1216-1272 

9.'  Edward  I. 
1272-1307 

10.  Edward  II. 
1307-1327 

11.  Edward  III. 

i327-|377 


/      I V 


\^ 


Edward 

(Black  Prince) 

d.  young 

12    Richard  II. 
1377-1399 


Lionel, 
Duke  of  Clarence 


John  of  Gaunt, 
Duke  of  Lancaster 


Edmund, 
Duke  of  York 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   KINGS   OF   LANCASTER   AND   YORK 

1399-1485 

13.  Henry  IV.     1399-1413 
106.  Opposition  to  Henry.     While  Henry  IV.  was  on 
the  throne,  he  had  much  trouble  with  both  his  friends  j 
and  his  enemies.     Many  people  felt  that  he  was  not  the  tiX^ 
rightful  king,  and  even  before  he  was    crowned,  there 
were  plots  against  him.     King   Richard  had  been  im- 
prisoned in  a  strong  castle  with  Henry's  men  to  guard 
him.     Within  a  month  it  was  said  that  he  had  died,  but, 
although  his  body  was  carried  to  London  and  seen  in 
Saint  Paul's  Cathedral  by  every  one  who  chose,  yet  this 
death  was  so  convenient  for  Henry  that  many  people 
believed  that  Richard  had  been  murdered. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  many  who  were  equally 
sure  that  the  body  shown  in  Saint  Paul's  was  not  that 
of  Richard,  but  of  some  other  man,  and  that  the  real 
Richard  was  hidden  away  somewhere  in  Scotland.  The 
Welsh  had  always  liked  him,  and  they  were  ready  to 
battle  for  his  rights  in  the  hope  that  he  was  still  alive, 
or  for  the  child  E^und  Mortimer,  if  Richard  was  dead. 
Henry  set  out  with  his  men  to  subdue  Wales. 

It  was  not  at  all  marvellous  that  in  a  mountainous 
country  like  Wales  there  should  have  been  heavy  tem- 
pests in  the  autumn,  but  the  English  soldiers  were  al- 
ways afraid  of  witchcraft,  and  they  believed  that  the 


124  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1399-1403 

leader  of  the  Welsh  had  brought  the  storms  upon  them 
by  magic.  They  were  ready  to  fight  any  number  of 
men,  but  storms  raised  by  evil  spirits  were  quite  another 
matter,  and  they  were  so  frightened  that  Henry  actually 
had  to  turn  about  and  go  home. 

107.  War  with  France.  The  child  queen  of  Richard, 
now  a  girl  of  fourteen,  had  been  sent  back  to  "France. 
Her  journey  was  made  with  all  possible  ceremony,  and 
she  had  a  splendid  escort ;  but  France  was  angry  both 
because  she  was  no  longer  a  queen  and  also  because 


HENRY   IV.   AND    HIS   COURT 


Henry  did  not  send  back  with  her  the  dower  that  she 
had  brought  to  England.  The  result  of  this  was  that 
there  was  trouble  with  France. 

108.  Trouble  with  Scotland.  Scotland  was  always 
inclined  to  be  friendly  with  France,  and  now  the  Scotch 
made  various  invasions  into  northern  England.  There 
were  few  real  battles,  but  there  were  continual  skir- 
mishes along  the  borders  of  the  two  countries.     On  the 

1  From  a  book  entitled  Reghnine  Principis,  translated  from  the 
Latin  at  the  command  of  Henry  IV.,  by  Hoccleve,  a  disciple  of 
Chaucer.  Hoccleve  is  here  represented  as  presenting  the  book 
to  the  king,  who  is  seated  attired  in  his  royal  robes,  surrounded  by 
his  court. 


1403]  LANCASTER  AND   YORK  12$ 

Scotch  side  was  the  Douglas  family,  and  on  the  English 
were  the  Percies.  One  family  would  start  out  with  all 
their  retainers  for  a  day's  hunting  on  the  other  side  of 
the  border.  Then,  if  they  met  the  other  family  —  a 
thing  that  both  parties  hoped  would  come  to  pass  — 
there  would  be  a  fight.  Many  stirring  ballads  were  after- 
wards written  about  these  skirmishes.  The  qyiovy 
best  one  is  "  Chevy  Chase,"  which  begins :  —  ohase. 

"The  Percy  out  of  Northumberland 
And  a  vow  to  God  made  he, 
That  he  would  hunt  in  the  mountkins 

Of  Cheviot  within  days  three. 

In  the  maugre  of  doughty  Douglas 

And  all  that  ever  with  him  be." 

The  Percies  had  been  strong  friends  of  Henry's ;  in- 
deed, he  could  hardly  have  gained  the  throne  Battle  oi 
without  their  aid.  Moreover,  they  had  finally  l^^^' 
driven  the  Scotch  out  of  Northumberland  for  1403. 
him.  Of  course  they  expected  a  reward,  but  Henry  had 
little  money,  and  he  could  not  be  nearly  so  bold  in  de- 
manding it  of  Parliament  as  he  would  have  been  if  he 
had  had  a  right  to  the  throne  that"  no  one  could  dispute. 
The  Percies  were  especially  indignant  because  he  had 
refused  to  ransom  a  kinsman  of  theirs  who  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  Welsh.  Finally,  they  united  with 
the  Welsh,  who  were  helped  by  France,  and  a  fierce  bat- 
tle was  fought  at  Shrewsbury  on  the  borders  of  Wales. 
The  king's  forces  were  victorious,  and  young  Harry 
Percy,  who  was  so  quick-tempered  that  he  was  called 
"  Hotspur,"  was  slain.  This  ended  the  rebellion,  but 
there  was  much  worse  trouble  yet  to  come  from  the  fact 
that  there  was  a  little  Edmund  Mortimer  in  existence. 

109.  The  first  burning  for  heresy.  1401.     The  reign 
of  Henry  IV.  will  always  be  remembered  as  the  first 


126  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1399-1413 

reign  during  which  any  one  was  burned  for  heresy,  or 
not  believing  what  the  church  taught.  Henry  was  not 
a  cruel  man,  but  he  wished  to  be  sure  of  the  support  of 
the  church,  so  he  gave  his  favor  to  a  law  that  punished 
heresy  with  burning  at  the  stake.  The  first  one  to  die 
was  a  London  clergyman  who  was  a  follower  of  Wiclif. 
There  was  one  other  death  at  the  stake  and  only  one, 
for  the  people  as  a  whole  did  not  believe  in  any  such 
barbarity,  and  Henry  did  not  dare  to  oppose  too  strongly 
the  will  of  the  nation. 

110.  Death  of  Henry  IV.  Henry  IV.  had  a  reign  of 
only  fourteen  years.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  life 
he  suffered  from  some  disease  that  no  one  knew  how  to 
cure.  Whatever  the  trouble  may  have  been,  the  attacks 
came  upon  him  unexpectedly,  and  one  day  when  he  was 
praying  in  Westminster  Abbey,  he  suddenly  became 
hopelessly  ill.  Henry  had  never  forgotten  a  prophecy 
made  long  before,  that  he  should  die  in  Jerusalem. 
Perhaps  this  was  what  had  given  him  so  much  interest 
in  the  Holy  Land  that  if  he  had  dared  to  leave  the  king- 
dom he  might  possibly  have  led  a  crusade,  for  to  die  in 
Jerusalem  was  to  go  straight  to  heaven.  When  he  was 
taken  ill,  he  was  carried  to  a  room  in  the  Abbey,  and 
when  he  came  to  himself,  his  first  question  was,  "Where 
am  I .?  Where  have  you  taken  me  }  "  "  This  is  called 
the  Jerusalem  Chamber,"  said  the  attendants.  "  Thanks 
be  to  the  Father  of  Heaven,"  said  he,  "that  I  shall  in- 
deed die  in  Jerusalem." 

111.  Prince  Henry  and  the  judge.  His  eldest  son, 
who  was  also  a  Henry,  was  to  succeed  him.  In  his 
youth  the  prince  was  probably  as  fond  of  a  good  time  as 
if  he  had  not  been  of  the  royal  blood.  The  story  is  told 
that  on  the  arrest  of  one  of  his  servants  the  young  prince 
went  to  the  judge  in  a  rage  and  demanded  that  the  man 
be  set  free. 


1399-1413]  LANCASTER  AND  YORK  12/ 

Then  said  the  judge :  "  Sir  prince,  I  humbly  beg  that 
if  you  would  not  have  your  servant  dealt  with  according 
to  the  laws  of  the  realm,  you  would  bring  me  a  pardon 
for  the  man  from  his  majesty  the  king." 

The  prince  was  so  angry  that  he  tried  to  rescue  his 
servant  by  force,  and  dashed  forward  so  that  men  thought 
he  would  verily  kill  the  judge  on  the  bench. 

The  judge  said  calmly  :  "  Sir  prince,  remember  that  I 
am  here  in  place  of  the  king,  to  whom  you  owe  the  obe- 
dience of  a  subject  and  of  a  son.  Moreover,  you  should 
give  good  example  of  obedience  to  those  that  will  some 
day  be  your  own  subjects."  The  prince's  hand  fell  to 
his  side,  and  the  judge  went  on  :  "And  now  for  your 
contempt  and  disobedience,  go  you  to  the  prison  of  the 
King's  Bench,  and  there  remain  until  the  pleasure  of  your 
father  be  known."  Dropping  his  weapon,  the  prince  did 
reverence  to  the  judge  and  went  to  the  prison,  "  as  he 
was  commanded."  ^ 

When  this  was  told  to  the  king,  he  said  :  "  Thank  God 
that  I  have  a  judge  who  fears  not  to  administer  justice, 
and  a  son  who  can  obey  justice." 

SUMMARY 

Henry's  lack  of  hereditary  claim  to  the  throne  opened  the 
way  to  opposition  and  conspiracy.  Trouble  with  France 
arose,  and  the  sympathy  of  Scotland  with  the  French  led  to 
border  forays  famous  in  ballad  and  story.  By  lords,  king, 
and  bishops,  burning  for  heresy  was  declared  legal,  but  it 
was  so  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  people  that  it  was  inflicted 
in  but  two  instances. 


128  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1413-1415 

14.  Henry  V.     141 3-1422 

112.  Generosity  of  Henry  V.  Henry  IV.  made  his 
friends  into  enemies ;  Henry  V.  made  his  enemies  into 
friends.  The  Httle  Edmund  Mortimer  was  now  a  tall 
young  man  who  might  have  formed  a  party  against  the 
king,  but  Henry  had  no  idea  of  keeping  him  in  prison,  and 
almost  the  first  thing  that  he  did  was  to  set  him  free. 
Then,  too,  there  were  the  Percies  of  Northumberland, 
who  had  revolted  in  the  preceding  reign  and  had  been 
punished  by  the  loss  of  their  estates ;  and  now  to  the 
son  of  Harry  Hotspur  King  Henry  gave  back  both  title 
and  lands.  Henry  trusted  the  Percies,  and  they  were 
always  true  to  him  ;  and  as  for  Mortimer,  he,  too,  was  a 
faithful  friend  to  the  king. 

113.  "Why  Henry  V.  went  to  war.  When  Henry 
was  only  Prince  of  Wales,  his  father  had  said  to  him, 
"  When  you  are  on  the  throne,  keep  your  nobles  busy 
making  war  abroad,  for  then  they  will  have  no  chance  to 
arouse  revolts  at  home."  This  alone  would  not  have  led 
the  king  into  fighting,  though  the  only  way  for  a  king  to 
win  the  applause  of  his  people  as  a  hero  was  to  show 
himself  a  brave  soldier  ;  but  there  was  another  strong 
influence  in  favor  of  war,  and  that  was  the  church. 

The  church  in  England  possessed  not  only  vast  sums 
of  money,  but  also  great  areas  of  land  scattered  over 
Wealth  of  ^he  country.  Even  while  Henry's  father  was 
the  church,  qj^  ^\^q  throne,  there  had  been  quite  a  wide- 
spread feeling  that  for  so  much  property  to  be  held  in 
such  a  way  that  the  king  could  have  no  income  from  it 
was  throwing  an  unfair  burden  of  taxation  upon  the  rest 
of  the  kingdom.  Many  people  believed  that  it  would  be 
right  for  the  king  to  take  possession  of  these  broad  do- 
mains, and  the  House  of  Commons  had  advised  him  to 


1413-1415]  LANCASTER   AND   YORK  129 

do  so.  People  were  beginning  to  talk  of  this  land  more 
than  ever,  and  the  clergy  felt  somewhat  alarmed.  Henry 
was  eager  for  military  glory,  and  of  course,  if  the  kingdom 
was  thinking  of  war,  it  would  not  be  thinking  about  the 
lands  of  the  church  ;  hence,  the  clergy  advised  Henry  to 


A   GROUP   OF    ENGLISH    KNIGHTS   AND    FRENCH    MAN-AT-ARMS 

Knights  clad  in  plate  armor,  man-at-arms  prostrate  under  the  horses'  feet,  person  to 
the  left  a  spectator  in  civil  costume 

go  to  war  with  France,  and  promised  to  help  him  with 
money  and  influence. 

114.  Henry  V.  invades  Prance.  Henry's  great-grand- 
father, Edward  HI.,  had  claimed  to  be  king  of  France, 
and  now  Henry  claimed  .the  French  crown.  Many 
people  felt  that  even  if  there  had  been  no  shadow  of 
a  claim,  it  would  have  been  right  for  some  strong  king 
to  come  in  and  rule  the  land,  for  the  French  nobles  were 
continually  fighting  among  themselves,  killing  men  and 
destroying  property,  and  the  king  of  France  was  insane 


I30  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1415 

much  of  the  time  and  could  do  nothing  to  quiet  the 
country. 

Henry  set  sail  for  the  mouth  of  the  Seine,  and  after 
besieging  Harfleur,  he  began  to  march  to  Calais.  As 
he  hoped  to  rule  over  the  land,  he  forbade  his  soldiers  to 
injure  any  property,  and  ordered  them  to  pay  well  for 
whatever  food  they  used.  The  French  nobles  had  never 
thought  of  paying  for  anything  that  they  took  or  de- 
stroyed, and  this  just  decree  of  Henry's  probably  pre- 
vented some  opposition  and  made  his  way  easier. 

By  and  by  he  found  himself  facing  a  French  army.     It 

was  never  any  trouble  in  France  to  collect  men  to  fight, 

and  the  French  had  six  times  as  many  soldiers 
Battle  of  •' 

Agincourt.    as  the  English.     Most  of  the  Frenchmen  were 

■'•*^^'  nobles,  and,  although  they  knew  that  the  Eng- 

lish army  was  made  up  in  great  degree  of  yeoman  foot- 
soldiers,  and  that  these  yeomen  were  the  same  kind  of 
bold  archers  that  had  won  the  victory  at  Crecy,  they 
forgot  the  lesson  that  the  former  defeat  should  have 
taught  them,  and  only  boasted  the  more  that  they  who 
were  nobles  would  have  no  difficulty  in  overcoming  a 
troop  of  peasants. 

The  battle  was  fought  on  clayey  ground  that  had  just 
been  ploughed.  The  evening  before,  it  had  rained,  and 
Yeomen  ^^^  earth  was  so  wet  and  soft  and  sticky  that 
con(iuer        knights  in  heavy  armor  could  hardly  have  made 

^  ^"  their  way  across  the  field  on  foot  ;  and  when 
they  attempted  to  ride,  the  horses  sank  to  their  knees, 
and  often  one  would  break 'its  leg,  while  the  masters 
floundered  about  heavily  in  the  mud.  The  knights  were 
no  cowards,  and  they  did  their  best  to  press  near  to  the 
English,  but  each  one  of  these  archers  had  a  long,  sharp 
stake,  which  he  thrust  into  the  ground  in  front  of  him 
while  he  shot ;  and  try  their  best,  the  French  could  not 


I4I5] 


LANCASTER  AND  YORK 


131 


go  through  the  forest  of  stakes.  The  English  archers 
had  no  heavy  armor,  and  they  sprang  Hghtly  forward 
with  their  battle-axes.  Many  of  the  French  knights  who 
were  uninjured  had  tumbled  off  their  horses,  and  lay  in 


MOVABLE   TOWER,    ARCHERS,   CANNON,   ETC.,   OF   THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY 

the  mud  utterly  helpless.  Some  one  has  said  that  the 
Englishmen  cracked  open  the  suits  of  mail  with  their 
battle-axes,  as  if  they  had  been  so  many  nutshells. 

It  is  said  that  when  the  battle  was  over  the  king 
asked  :  "  What  is  the  name  of  the  castle  yonder  ? "  and 
when  some  one  answered,  "  Agincourt,"  he  said,  "Then 
let  this  be  called  the  battle  of  Agincourt ; "  and  Agincourt 
it  has  been  from  1415,  when  it  was  fought  —  just  two 
hundred  years  later  than  Magna  Carta  —  until  to-day. 


132  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1415-1422 

116.  Celebrating  Aginoourt.  Henry  had  to  return 
to  England  for  a  time,  and  there  was  the  greatest  cele- 
bration that  can  be  imagined.  The  English  were  so  jubi- 
lant that  when  they  saw  his  ship  coming  into  the  harbor, 
they  even  rushed  out  into  the  water  and  took  him  on 
their  shoulders  and  carried  him  to  the  land. 

116.  Conquest  of  France.  This  victory,  great  as  it 
was,  did  not  conquer  France  ;  but  two  years  later,  Henry 
went  on  another  warlike  expedition,  and  this  time  he  won 
everything  that  he  wished,  though  his  desires  were  not 
at  all  moderate,  inasmuch  as  he  demanded  a  large  sum 
of  money,  the  prown  of  the  French  kingdom,  and  the 
hand  of  the  French  princess.  The  money  and  the  prin- 
cess he  carried  with  him  to  England.  As  for  the  crown, 
it  was  agreed  that  the  iji sane  king  should  wear  it  while 
he  lived,  but  that  Henry  should  really  govern  the  king- 
dom ;  and  that  when  the  king  died,  Henry  should  be- 
come sovereign  of  France.  This  never  came  to  pass, 
for  Henry  V.  died  two  months  before  the  king  of  France. 
Henry  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey  in  a  beautiful 
little  chapel  built  in  the  shape  of  a  capital  //for  Henry. 

117.  A  baby  king  of  two  countries.  He  left  a  baby 
son,  also  named  Henry,  and  as  this  child  was  son  of  the 
conqueror  of  France  and  of  the  French  princess,  he  was  at 
once  proclaimed  king  of  both  countries.  If  he  had  been 
a  strong,  prudent  man,  he  might  perhaps  have  kept  pos- 
session of  the  new  domain,  but  he  was  only  a  little  child, 
and  the  eldest  son  of  the  old  French  king  was  living. 
Therefore,  every  one  knew  that  long  before  the  baby 
prince  would  be  old  enough  to  rule,  there  would  be  more 
fighting  with  France. 


1413-1428]  LANCASTER   AND   YORK  1 33 

_      y^.     SUMMARY  J  o 

Henry  V.  trusted  those  who  might  have  been  his  enemies, 
and  they  became  his  friends.  To  avoid  discussion  and  possi- 
ble confiscation  of  church  lands,  the  clergy  encouraged  him 
to  bring  forward  his  ancestral  claim  to  the  throne  of  France. 
Agincourt  and  other  victories  won  him  a  large  sum  of  money, 
the  hand  of  the  French  princess,  the  regency  of  France,  and 
a  promise  of  the  crown  at  the  death  of  the  French  king. 
Henry  died  before  the  French  king,  and  the  claim  to  the 
French  crown  descended  to  the  baby  ruler  of  England. 

15.  Henry  VI.     1422-1461 

118.  Henry  VI.  and  his  uncles.  In  1422,  the  baby 
king  was  proclaimed  ruler  of  England  and  France  under 
the  name  of  Henry  VI.  There  was  one  respect  in  which 
this  accession  of  a  sovereign  might  have  been  a  fairy 
tale,  for  the  baby  had  two  uncles,  and  one  was  good  while 
the  other  was  bad.  The  good  one  was  the  Duke  of  Bed- 
ford, and  the  bad  one  was  the  Duke  of  Gloucester.  The 
Duke  of  Bedford  had  to  spend  much  of  his  time  in 
France  to  take  care  of  the  French  interests  of  his  little 
nephew,  and  whenever  he  came  back  to  England  he  had 
all  that  he  could  do  to  settle  the  quarrels  that  the  Duke 
of  Gloucester  had  aroused. 

119.  Henry's  hard  childhood.  The  poor  little  boy 
did  not  have  a  very  happy  childhood.  He  was  brought 
into  Parliament  and  held  by  his  mother  in  the  royal  seat 
when  he  was  only  three  or  four  years  old,  and  when  he 
was  eight  he  was  crowned ;  but  he  must  have  often 
wished  that  instead  of  being  King  Henry  he  had  been 
one  of  the  royal  attendants,  for  when  he  was  only  six 
years  old  he  was  taken  from  his  mother  and  given  in 
charge  to  an  earl  who  was  a  stern  old  warrior.  This 
was  according  to  the  will  of  Henry  V.,  who  had  wished 
to  make  sure  that  his  son  would  be  a  good  soldier. 


134 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1428 


At  that  time  it  had  never  occurred  to  any  one  that 
there  was  any  better  way  to  bring  up  a  child  than  with, 
the  utmost  severity.  The  earl  appointed  four  knights  to 
be  with  the  king,  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  speak  to 
him  unless  one  of  these  knights  was  present.  Children 
were  whipped  almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  the  poor 
little  king  was  whipped  perhaps  oftener  than  others,  for 
the  earl  was  bent  upon  making  him  a  model  ruler. 
Whipping  a  king,  even  though  he  was  a  baby,  was  a 
rather  dangerous  matter,  for  it  was  possible  that  after  he 


^diterra'^^'^ 


FRENCH   TERRITORY   HELD    BY   ENGLISH    WHEN   JOAN   OF   ARC 
APPEARED,   1429 

had  grown  up  he  might  resent  such  treatment,  and 
therefore  the  council  appointed  to  take  charge  of  Henry 
agreed  that  when  he  was  to  be  punished,  they  would 
come  before  him  and  declare  their  willingness  that  the 
deed  should  be  done. 

120.  The  siege  of  Orleans.     All  this  time  the  Duke 


1429J  LANCASTER  AND   YORK  135 

of  Bedford  was  trying  hard  to  keep  possession  of  the 
French  kingdom  for  his  little  nephew,  who  certainly 
ought  to  have  had  at  least  two  kingdoms  to  make  up  for 
his  dreary  childhood.  The  English  had  a  good  hold  on 
northern  France,  and  the  duke  was  trying  to  drive  the 
French  army  south  of  the  river  Loire,  but  the  attempt 
was  of  no  use  so  long  as  the  French  held  the  town  of 
Orleans.  This  had  strong  fortifications,  and  month  after 
month  the  English  besieged  it  in  vain.  At  last  they 
could  see  that  the  city  was  weakening,  and  that  every 
day  was  bringing  the  time  nearer  when  it  must  sur- 
render. 

121.  Joan  of  Arc.  The  French  became  discouraged 
at  the  failure  to  raise  the  siege.  Charles  VII.,  son  of  the 
old  king  of  France  who  had  yielded  to  Henry  V.  of  Eng- 
land, was  no  leader.  He  liked  to  have  a  good  time  and 
to  be  comfortable,  not  to  bear  the  hardships  of  camp  life. 
He  was  willing  to  be  king,  provided  that  some  one  else 
would  place  him  on  the  throne  and  put  the  sceptre  into 
his  hands.  His  nobles  stood  by  him,  but  they  could  not 
lead  his  army  or  make  the  masses  of  the  French  people 
trust  them.  While  they  were  wondering  what  to  do,  a 
strange  message  came  to  the  prince  from  one  of  his  offi- 
cers. It  said  that  a  young  girl,  a  simple  village  maiden, 
called  Joan  of  Arc,  was  insisting  upon  meeting  the  prince, 
and  that  she  declared  she  had  seen  a  vision  and  heard 
voices  that  bade  her  rescue  France.  She  said,  "  I  should 
rather  spin  by  the  side  of  my  mother,  but  I  must  go  to 
the  Dauphin."  The  people  about  her  home  had  recalled 
an  old  prophecy  that  France  should  be  saved  by  a 
woman,  and  they  believed  in  her.  A  duke  had  sent  for 
her  to  cure  him  of  some  illness,  but  she  had  said  very 
simply  that  she  could  not  do  it,  she  could  do  nothing 
but  save    France.      The  officer  reported   that  he   had 


136 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1429 


Joan  meets 
the  Dau- 
phin. 


asked  her  a  number  of  questions,  but  that  he  could  not 

make  her  change   her   story.      Then    he  had  had    her 

sprinkled  with  holy  water,  and  no  harm 

had  come  to  her,  and  now  he  begged 

the  prince  to  see  her. 

She  was  sent  for,  and  it  is  said  that, 
although    she  was   told   that   a   hand- 
somely dressed  courtier  was  the  Dau- 
phin,   she    made    no 
mistake,  but 
knelt  before 
the    prince 
and    gave    him    her 
message,  that  voices, 
from     heaven    had 
commissioned  her 
to     conduct    him 
to    Rheims   to  be 
crowned.    As  a  proof 
of  her  truth,  she  said 
that  she  would  lead 
the  French  army  to 
Orleans,     and    drive 
away  the  English. 

Then  there  was  a 
long  discussion 
about  the  words  of 
the  young  girl. 
Some  thought  that  her  voices  were  those  of  good  spirits, 
and  some  thought  that  they  came  from  the 
comes  a  sol-  tempter  himself.  Finally,  the  council  decided 
that  they  were  good  and  might  be  trusted.  So 
the  village  maiden  was  dressed  in  a  suit  of  white  armor 
and  set  upon  a  great  white  horse.     In  her  hand  was  a 


STATUE    OF   JOAN    OF    ARC      •>&  v"'  - 

Place  des  Pyramides,  Paris  ^^   "  ^ 


1429]  LANCASTER   AND    YORK  137 

sword,  and  before  her  was  carried  a  shining  white  stand- 
ard with  a  picture  of  two  angels  bearing  Hlies  and  of  God 
holding  the  world. 

Onward  she  rode  at  the  head  of  the  long  lines  of 
French  soldiers.  When  they  were  near  Orleans,  she 
stopped,  and  sent  a  messenger  to  the  English  j^^n  raises 
commander  telling  him  it  was  the  will  of  Heaven  the  siege  of 
that  he  should  surrender.  His  reply  was  that 
she  knew  nothing  about  the  will  of  Heaven,  and  he 
threatened  to  burn  the  messenger  for  helping  on  the 
practice  of  magic.  The  French  replied  that  if  the  mes- 
senger was  harmed,  the  English  prisoners  in  their  hands 
would  be  sufferers.  There  was  something  mysterious 
about  it,  and  while  the  starving  people  of  Orleans  were 
calling  out  j  ubilantly  :  "  It  is  the  maid  of  prophecy, 
and  she  is  coming  to  save  us,"  the  English  soldiers  were 
feeling  badly  frightened  ;  for  if  she  was  sent  by  Heaven 
they  were  afraid  to  fight  against  her,  and  if  she  was  a 
witch,  that  was  just  as  bad,  since,  if  she  had  the  aid  of 
evil  spirits,  no  one  knew  what  she  might  do  to  harm  her 
foes. 

When  it  came  to  a  real  battle,  Joan  fought  as  bravely 
as  any  old  soldier,  and  as  soon  as  the  scaling  ladders 
were  put  against  the  wall  of  the  English  fort,  she  climbed 
up  before  any  of  the  men.  By  and  by  the  English 
yielded,  and  the  siege  of  Orleans  was  raised.  This  was 
what  she  had  told  the  French  would  be  the  sign  of  her 
mission,  and  now  the  soldiers  were  enthusiastic.  They 
had  no  fear  to  follow  wherever  she  might  lead  them,  and 
Joan  had  no  doubt  whither  she  ought  to  lead  them.  The 
voices  that  she  had  heard,  she  told  Charles,  had  commis- 
sioned her  to  conduct  him  to  Rheims  to  be  crowned,  and 
thither  they  must  go. 

Charles  was  ready  to  be  crowned,  but  he  did  not  care 


138  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1429-1453 

to  run  into  danger,  and  he  greatly  preferred  that  some 

Charles  is     ^^^  ^^se  should  do  the  fighting.     The  English 

crowned.      forces   were    between    him   and    Rheims,  but 

Joan   persisted,  and  Charles   finally  yielded,     Joan  was 

victorious  everywhere,  and  in  the  cathedral  at  Rheims 

Charles  was  crowned  and  anointed  king  of  the  French. 

Joan  wept  with  joy.     "  I  have  done  what  was  given  me 

to  do,"   she  pleaded,  "now  let  me  go  to  my  home  ;  "  but 

she  was  too  valuable  a  leader  to  lose,  and  Charles  would 

not  spare  her.     She  must  stay  and  win  more  battles  for 

him,  he  said.     In  vain  she  pleaded  that  her  mission  was 

ended,  that  the  voices  she  had  heard  had  not  told  her  to 

do  anything  more ;  Charles  still  refused  to  let  her  go. 

Then  Joan  did  her  best  to  lead  the  army,  but  all  power 

seemed  to  have  left  her,  and  she  lost  as  often 
Joan  Is 
uurned  as  a  as  she  won.     When  she  had  gained  a  victory, 

^  ^  '         the  soldiers  sang  her  praises  and  were  sure  that 

Heaven  had  sent  her ;  but  if  she  had  lost  a  battle,  they 

were  equally  sure  that  she  was  a  witch.      Finally,  the 

French  army  had  to  retreat,  and  they  left  her  alone  to 

fall  into  the  hands  of  the  English.    Not  one  soldier  tried 

to  save  her,  and  not  a  word  did  Charles  speak  in  her 

defence.     Not  an  effort  did  he  make  to  rescue  her  when 

some  months  later  the  English  burned  her  as  a  witch 

in  the  market-place  of  Rouen. 

122.  The  Hundred  Years*  War  ends.  In  1453  the 
war  ended,  perhaps  quite  as  much  because  both  sides 
were  tired  of  fighting  as  for  any  other  reason.  After 
the  hundred  years'  struggle,  Calais  was  the  only  bit  of 
ground  in  all  France  that  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
English. 

123.  Good  effects  of  the  war.  It  is  pleasant  to  know 
that  there  were  some  good  results  of  this  war.  One  was 
that  as  the  English  kings  needed  a  great  deal  of  money 


1453]  LANCASTER   AND   YORK  1 39 

to  carry  on  the  war,  and  as  the  only  way  for  them  to  get 
it  was  to  ask  the  House  of  Commons,  they  learned  that 
the  best  way  to  obtain  money  was  to  obey  the  will  of 
the  people.  Another  gain  was  that  all  ranks  had  fought 
side  by  side.  The  knights  had  learned  to  respect  the 
yeomen ;  and  now  that  the  yeomen  had  found  that 
they,  too,  were  esteemed  of  worth  in  the  land,  they  had 
less  jealousy  of  the  knights,  and  Englishmen  began  to 
feel  a  strong  national  pride. 

124.  Discontent  in  England.  Nevertheless,  there 
were  several  reasons  why  people  in  England  were  dis- 
contented and  ready  for  a  change.  One  reason  was 
their  indignation  that  after  so  much  fighting  the  French 
lands  should  have  been  lost.  Another  reason  was  that 
men  who  voted  for  members  of  Parliament  were  not 
allowed  to  vote  freely;  and  worst  of  all,  as  the  baby 
king  grew  up,  although  he  was  quiet  and  gentle  and 
kindhearted,  he  had  no  idea  how  to  rule  a  kingdom  in 
spite  of  all  his  stern  training ;  and  it  often  happened  that 
guilty  persons  were  not  punished  and  innocent  people 
were  not  protected.  There  were  courts  of  justice,  to  be 
sure,  but  the  jurymen  were  frequently  chosen  simply  be- 
cause they  were  friends  of  one  of  the  contestants,  and  if 
they  did  not  vote  for  his  side,  they  were  in  danger  of 
being  beaten  or  killed  on  the  way  home.  In  1453,  just 
as  the  war  ended,  the  king's  mind  failed  him,  and  from 
then  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  was  subject  to  attacks  of 
insanity. 

Another  event  that  happened  in  1453  was  the  birth  of 
a  prince.  Then  people  were  utterly  discouraged.  Even 
those  who  had  felt  that  it  would  be  better  to  bear  their 
troubles  patiently,  as  long  as  Henry  VL  iived,  could  not 
endure  the  thought  of  another  baby  king  and  the  trou- 
bles that  a  long  regency  would  bring. 


I40 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1454 


126.  Wars  of  the  Roses  begin.  1454.  Edmund 
Mortimer,  Earl  of  March,  in  whose  place  Henry  IV.  had 
become  king,  was  dead ;  but  Edmund's  sister  had  mar- 
ried a  cousin,  and  they  had  a  son  named  Richard.  As 
Richard's  father  and  mother  were  both  descended  from 
Edward  III.,  and  his  mother  came  from  an  older  son 
than  the  one  from  whom  Henry  came,  many  people  be- 
gan to  feel  that  this  Richard,  Duke  of  York,  had  a  claim 


COSTUMES   OF    LADIES   OF    RANK   DURING   THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY 
Remarkable  for  the  head-dresses  worn 

to  the  throne,  and  so  when  Henry  became  insane,  Parlia- 
ment appointed  Richard  as  Protector.  When  the  king 
recovered,  Richard  declared  himself  to  be  in  danger, 
and  called  out  his  men  to  fight  for  him.  Henry  was 
descended  from  the  Duke  of  Lancaster,  whose  badge 
was  the  red  rose,  and  Richard  from  the  Duke  of  York, 
whose  badge  was  the  white  rose  ;  and  this  is  why  the 
contest,  which  began  only  two  years  after  the  Hundred 
Years'  War  ended,  was  called  the  Wars  of  the  Roses. 


1455-1461]  LANCASTER  AND   YORK  I4I 

During  the  French  wars  it  had  come  to  pass  that 
many  nobles  had  become  very  rich,  and  could  ^j^^  jj^j  ^j 
call  upon  large  numbers  of  men  to  fight  for  Warwick, 
them.  The  Earl  of  Warwick  was  one  of  these  im- 
mensely wealthy  people.  It  was  said  that  he  could 
bring  forward  thirty  thousand  men  at  any  minute  to 
fight  for  whatever  cause  he  chose ;  and  he  meant  to 
put  the  Duke  of  York  on  the  throne.  Of  course  many 
favored  the  king,  and  Parliament  compromised  the  mat- 
ter by  deciding  that  after  King  Henry  died  the  Duke 
of  York  should  rule.  Neither  Parliament  nor  the  people 
as  a  whole  cared  very  much  which  royal  house  held  the 
throne,  but  they  were  all  tired  of  poor  government,  and 
they  did  want  a  king  with  sufficient  force  to  rule  his  king- 
dom. 

Affairs  would  perhaps  have  moved  on  smoothly  if  it 
had  not  been  for  that  baby  son  of  King  Henry.  Queen 
His  mother.  Queen  Margaret,  was  a  very  brave  J^J'^^J'^l  - 
woman,  and  she  declared  that  she  would  defend  taty  son. 
the  rights  of  her  child,  and  that  he  and  no  one  else  should 
wear  his  father's  crown.  She  was  of  French  birth,  and 
to  find  help  she  went  to  different  parts  of  France  and 
also  to  Scotland. 

Fighting  began,  and  soon  the  king  was  captured ;  but 
it  was  not  long  before  the  queen  rescued  him,  even  from 
the  hands  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick  himself.  The  Duke 
of  York  had  been  slain  in  battle,  but  he  had  left  three 
sons.  Edward,  the  eldest,  claimed  to  be  the  lawful  king, 
and  had  been  collecting  men  and  arms  in  another  part 
of  the  country  to  maintain  his  rights.  His  army  and  the 
forces  of  Warwick  united,  and  marching  to  London,  they 
entered  the  city  with  as  much  rejoicing  as  if  they  had  not 
just  lost  a  battle  and  also  their  royal  prisoner.  Edward, 
now  Duke  of  York  in  place  of  his  father,  was  not  yet 


142  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1461 

twenty  years  of  age,  but  he  was  bold  enough  to  go 
straight  to  Parliament  and  claim  the  crown. 

126.  Edward  of  York  becomes  king.  1461.  Parlia- 
ment discussed  the  matter,  and  finally  decided  that,  as 
King  Henry  had  joined  the  forces  of  Queen  Margaret 
that  were  rebelling  against  a  decree  of  Parliament,  he 
had  forfeited  the  crown,  and  it  should  be  given  to  this 
Edward  of  York,  who  was  now  proclaimed  as  King 
Edward  IV. 

There  were  no  such  rejoicings  as  there  had  been  at  the 
coronation  of  King  Edward  L,  for  every  one  knew  that 
some  terrible  fighting  must  come  before  many  days ;  and 

so  it  was,  for  soon  a  battle  was  fought  at  Tow- 
Towton.       ton  in  northern  England.     It  was  so  fierce  that 

more  people  are  believed  to  have  been  killed 
on  that  one  day  than  during  the  last  forty  years  of 
the  Hundred  Years'  War.  Indeed,  this  whole  struggle, 
which  went  on  for  thirty  years,  was  a  bloody  time. 
Nominally,  people  were  fighting  to  settle  the  question 
whether  Parliament  had  a  right  to  put  on  the  throne 
whomever  it  chose ;  or  whether,  as  the  house  of  York 
claimed,  the  descendants  of  the  eldest  son  should  always 
rule,  regardless  of  the  will  of  Parliament.  Really,  how- 
ever, men  were  fighting  for  wealth  and  power,  and  often 
to  avenge  private  wrongs.  Every  noble  of  any  position 
had,  as  has  been  said  before,  a  great  band  of  retainers 
to  fight  for  him.  It  was  regarded  as  the  only  honorable 
course  for  a  man  to  avenge  any  relative  that  had  been 
slain.  Almost  every  one  had  lost  relatives,  and  there- 
fore there  was  no  generosity  shown  to  the  vanquished. 
Those  that  won  would  put  to  death  the  prominent  men 
on  the  other  side  and  confiscate  their  property. 


1422-1465]  LANCASTER  AND   YORK  I43 

^  SUMMARY 

The  long  minority  of  the  king  made  efforts  to  hold  the 
French  throne  unavailing,  and  at  the  close  of  the  Hundred 
Years'  War  in  1453  Calais  was  the  only  bit  of  France  that 
still  belonged  to  England.  Although  in  this  long  war  dif- 
ferent ranks  had  learned  a  mutual  respect,  and  the  power 
of  the  Commons  had  increased,  because  the  kings  were 
obliged  to  apply  to  them  for  the  large  sums  of  money  that 
were  needed,  there  was  much  discontent  in  England.  The 
chief  reasons  were  the  loss  of  the  French  lands,  the  weak- 
ness of  the  government,  and  the  fact  that  many  Englishmen 
were  not  allowed  to  vote  freely.  Finally,  the  failure  of  the 
king's  mind  and  the  prospect  of  another  child  ruler  aroused 
a  deter-mination  to  put  Richard,  Duke  of  York,  on  the  throne. 
The  fierce  Wars  of  the  Roses  began.  Richard  was  slain,  but 
by  the  power  of  Warwick  Richard's  son  became  King  Ed- 
ward IV. 

16.  Edward  IV.     146 1 -148 3 

127.  The  "King-maker"  changes  sides.  It  v^as  in 
1 46 1  that  Edward  IV.  had  been  put  on  the  English 
throne.  His  strongest  ally  was  the  Earl  of  Warwick, 
the  "King-maker,"  as  he  was  called,  because  he  put 
down  one  king  and  set  up  another  just  as  he  chose. 
There  was  more  fighting,  but  at  last  Queen  Margaret  was 
beaten  in  two  important  battles,  and  Henry  VI.  was  taken 
prisoner.  No  one  could  have  expected  him  ever  to  sit  on 
the  throne  again,  but  strange  things  were  to  happen. 
The  Earl  of  Warwick  wished  Edward  to  marry  a  French 
princess  in  order  to  increase  the  royal  power ;  but  now 
that  the  young  man  was  on  the  throne,  he  was  not  so 
obedient  as  he  had  been,  and  without  consulting  the  earl, 
he  married  a  lady  who,  though  of  noble,  was  not  of  royal 
birth. 


144  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [147c 

This  and  other  causes  made  Warwick  so  angry  that 
he  determined  to  leave  the  ungrateful  Edward  «^f  York 
and    support     Henry    VI.    of    Lancaster.      He    joined 


EDWARD    IV.,    HIS    QUEEN    AND    SON 

Anthony  Woodville,  Earl  of  Rivers,  is  giving  the  king  a  book  and  presenting  his  printer 
Caxton.  Next  to  the  queen  is  her  son,  afterward  Edward  V.  The  courtier  in  cap 
and  robes  of  state  is  probably  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  afterward  Richard  III. 


forces  with  Queen  Margaret,  and  Edward  was  so  fright- 
Henry  vi.  ened  that  he  fled  to  Holland.  The  way  was 
j^l*^  open  then,  and  Warwick  brought  poor,  feeble 
1470.  Henry  VI.  out  of  the  Tower  of  London  and  set 

him  on  the  throne. 

128.  Edward  IV.  is  restored.  Edward  had  not  been 
idle,  and  after  a  few  months  he  returned  with  strong 
forces,  fought  a  battle  with  Queen  Margaret,  and  took 


1470-1483]  LANCASTER   AND   YORK  145 

her  prisoner.  Her  son,  the  young  man  about  whom  all 
this  fighting  had  been,  was  killed  in  the  battle,  and  the 
queen  was  carried  to  the  Tower  of  London.  Henry  VL 
was  then  in  the  Tower,  where  he  is  believed  to  have  been 
murdered.  Warwick  had  been  slain  in  battle  one  month 
earlier. 

129.  Benevolences.  Edward  was  again  on  the  throne, 
and  he  seemed  to  feel  that,  as  he  had  had  so.  hard  a  time, 
he  was  now  entitled  to  enjoy  himself.  He  needed 
money,  so  he  confiscated  estates  wherever  there  was  the 
slightest  excuse.  That  did  not  provide  enough  revenue, 
but  he  knew  that  it  would  be  of  little  use  to  ask  Parlia- 
ment for  more,  and  he  did  not  dare  to  attempt  to  tax  the 
people  without  Parliament's  consent ;  so  he  at  last  origi- 
nated a  scheme  for  getting  funds  in  such  a  way  that  no 
one  would  dare  to  object.  This  was  to  invite  wealthy 
men  to  make  him  a  present,  or  benevolence,  as  he  called 
it.  "  Benevolence  "  means  "good  will,"  and  a  few  years  ^ 
later  a  witty  man  said  that  the  name  was  a  true  one, 
though  it  did  not  mean  that  people  gave  with  a  good  will, 
but  rather  that  the  king  took  what  he  had  a  good  will  to 
take. 

130.  Printing  is  invented.  Wonderful  stories  had 
begun  to  make  their  way  from  Germany.  It  was  said 
that  in  that  country  books  were  being  sold  at  about  one- 
eighth  of  what  they  cost  in  England.  At  first  people 
did  not  believe  the  report,  but  when  they  found  that  it 
was  really  true,  they  said  the  books  must  have  been 
made  by  Satan,  for  in  those  days  everything  mysterious 
was  laid  to  Satan.  It  was  chiefly  Bibles  that  were  sold, 
but  that  made  no  difference. 

There  was  living  in  Flanders  an  intelligent  English- 
man named  William  Caxton.  He  had  translated  from 
the  French  a  book  called  the  "History  of  Troy,"  and 


146  ENGLAND'S   STORY        [i4th-i 5th  Cent. 

when  he  heard  of  the  strange,  new  art  of  printing,  he 
wiuiam  determined  to  learn  all  about  it  and  to  have  his 
Oaxton.  book  printed.  He  did  so,  and  he  wrote  about 
the  book  to  a  friend,  saying  that  it  was  "not  written 
with  pen  and  ink,  as  other  books  be." 

After  a  while  he  came  to  England  and  set  up  his  press 
near  Westminster  Abbey,  and  there  he  printed  more 
Printing  is  than  sixty  volumes.  He  would  probably  have 
EngiSd!"  printed  Wiclif 's  translation  of  the  Bible,  had  its 
1477.  sale  not  been  forbidden.     He  did  print,  how- 

ever, among  other  works,   "^sop's  Fables,"  Chaucer's 

*Tr*  '€  m^fi^  %«)  ^a<  Ibofl  h^m  Son^i 
•^  Ipff  to  ^notibe  <^  aaf &  ©f  ^Ijotne  50; 

FAC-SIMILE   SPECIMEN   OF   CAXTON'S   PRINTING 

"Canterbury  Tales,"  and  a  book  about  King  Arthur. 
People  felt  at  first  as  if  the  printing-press  were  only  a  toy, 
but  the  king  was  deeply  interested  in  it,  and  the  queen's 
brother  translated  three  books  for  Caxton  to  print. 

131.  Literature.  During  the  one  hundred  and  thirty 
years  preceding  the  end  of  Edward's  reign,  there  had 
been  too  much  fighting  going  on  for  people  to  write,  but 
they  were  interested  in  many  more  subjects  than  they 
had  been  in  earlier  times,  and  every  one  that  could 
Few  books  afford  such  luxury  had  bought  books,  though 
written.  these  had  been  so  expensive  that  a  collection  of 
thirty  volumes  was  looked  upon  as  a  valuable  library  for 
even  a  wealthy  gentleman  to  possess. 


74th-i5th  Cent.]     LANCASTER  AND   YORK  I47 

People  were  still  composing  ballads,  for  while  few  felt 
like  writing  books,  yet  the  excitement  and  the  sudden 
changes  did  arouse  people  to  compose  short, 
strong  ballads,   which   tell  a  story  in    so   few  taiiads 
words  that  each  one  seems  almost  like  a  sud-  ®°™'*'*®  ■ 
den  battle-stroke.     Caxton  would  have  thought  it  quite 
beneath  him  to  put  in  print  anything  so  simple  as  bal- 
lads, though  every  one  enjoyed  listening  to  them,  and 
the  royal  court  and   many  of  the  houses  of  the  great 
nobles  had  minstrels.     Much  respect  was  shown  to  men 
who  could  compose  these  poems  and  sing  them.     King 
Edward  IV.  gave  each  of  his  minstrels  ten  marks  a  year, 
clothing,  lodging  for  themselves  and  their  horses,  two 
servants,  four  gallons  of  ale  a  night,  wax  candles,  and 
other  luxuries. 

New  ballads  were  composed,  but  people  sang  the  old 
ones  over  and  over  again,  every  time  changing  some  of 
the  words,  and  that  is  why  we  often  have  several  versions 
of  the  same  story.     The  old  ballads  of  Robin  ,  „ 

^  Influence  of 

Hood,  the  merry  outlaw  who  lived  in  the  "good   "Robin 
greenwood,"  had  a  strong  influence  on  the  Eng- 
lish people,  and  it  was  almost  wholly  a  good  influence, 
for   the   stories   of    Robin   made  them    think   more  of 
the  pleasures  of  out-of-door  life  and  of  being  kind  to  the 
poor. 

One  thing  in  the  old  Robin  Hood  ballads  seems  a  little 
surprising  to  have  come  from  those  days  of  constant 
warfare,  and  that  is  that  Robin  ruled  his  men  not  be- 
cause he  was  stronger  than  they,  for  most  of  them  had 
beaten  him  in  a  fair  fight,  but  because  he  was  intellect- 
ually greater.  He  was  wiser  and  brighter,  and  always 
knew  what  to  do  when  the  wit  of  his  followers  had 
failed. 


148  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1461-1483 

SUMMARY 

The  Wars  of  the  Roses  continued,  and  Henry  was  taken 
prisoner,  but  Edward's  disobedience  to  the  "  King-maker  "  led 
to  the  temporary  restoration  of  Henry.  At  last  Warwick  was 
slain,  Henry  was  again  imprisoned,  and  Edward  was  on  the 
throne.  To  obtain  money  for  his  pleasures,  he  originated 
*'  benevolences."  The  great  event  of  the  reign  was  William 
Caxton's  introduction  of  printing  into  England.  Few  books 
were  written,  but  many  ballads  were  composed. 

17.  Edward  V.      1483 

18.  Richard  III.     1483-1485 

132.  The  king  who  never  reigned.  In  1483  Edward 
IV.  died,  and  again  a  child  was  heir  to  the  throne.  This 
child  was  Edward's  son,  a  boy  of  twelve  years,  and  as  he, 
too,  was  named  Edward,  he  was  called  Edward  V.,  though 
he  never  had  a  chance  to  reign.  It  was  the  most  natural 
thing  for  his  uncle  Richard,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  to  be 
made  Protector,  and  he  was  very  willing  to  take  the 
office. 

When  Edward  IV.  married,  he  began  to  put  the 
relatives  of  the  queen  into  power,  and  before  long  it 
The  Wood-  seemed  to  the  nobles  that  every  position  of 
vines.  honor  and  trust  and  opportur^ity  for  gain  was  in 
the  hands  of  her  family,  the  Woodvilles.  The  result 
of  this  was  that  as  soon  as  Edward  IV.  was  dead,  many 
nobles  were  eager  to  put  the  Woodvilles  out  of  office. 
This  was  exactly  what  Duke  Richard  wanted.  The  more 
of  his  friends  that  he  could  have  in  high  places,  or  even 
in  any  place  connected  with  the  governm.ent,  the  better 
for  his  plans  ;  and  this  uncle  and  ''  protector  "  of  the  boy 
king  had  some  very  definite  plans  in  mind  for  his  own 
gain. 


1483]  LANCASTER  AND   YORK  149 

The  little  Edward  V.  was  with  his  mother's  brother  in 
a  castle  near  Wales,  and  was  being  carefully  and  wisely 
brought  up;  but  the   Protector  declared  that  5^^^^^^ 
the  child  would  be  safer  in  London,  and  must,  goes  to 
at  any  rate,  go  there  to  be  crowned.     Richard 
met  him  on  the  road,  separated  him  from  his  followers, 


rr^ 


THE  SANCTUARY   AT   WESTMINSTER 
From  a  sketch  made  in  1775 


and  carried  him  to  the  Tower  of  London,  though  the 
poor  child  begged  piteously  to  be  taken  back  to  his 
mother  and  his  old  friends. 

The  queen  had  taken  her  daughters  and  her  second 
son  to  Westminster,  for  it  was  an  old  law  in  the  king- 
dom, called  the  "right  of  sanctuary,"  that  no  "Right of 
one  should  harm  a  person  who  had  taken  refuge  sanctuary." 
in  a  church ;  and  once  when  Edward  IV.  had  pursued 
an  enemy  within  the  church  walls,  the  priest  had  stood 
between  the  two,  holding  the  consecrated  bread,  and  at 
his  command  the  king  had  submissively  retreated.  The 
children  would  have  been  safe  in  Westminster,  but  Duke 


ri 


150  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1483-1485 

Richard  sent  people  to  the  queen,  who  persuaded  her 
against  her  will  to  let  the  second  son  go  to  London ;  and 
before  long  this  little  boy  was  also  in  the  Tower. 

133.  Richard  III.  becomes  king.  After  the  princes 
were  in  his  hands,  Richard  did  not  conceal  from  those 
nobles  who  were  willing  to  stand  by  him  his  inten- 
tion of  becoming  king.  He  prevailed  upon  Parliament 
to  say  that  the  marriage  of  Edward  IV.  had  not  been 
legal,  and  that  therefore  his  children  could  not  inherit 
the  throne.  There  were  several  executions  of  people 
who  might  have  stood  in  Richard's  way,  and  at  last 
Parliament  offered  him  the  crown.  There  were  three 
reasons  for  this  act,  —  Richard  was  already  in  power ; 
many  nobles  and  others  expected  to  gain  by  his  being  on 
the  throne ;  and  if  the  little  princes  were  set  aside,  there 
was  no  one  else  whose  hereditary  claim  was  so  good. 

134.  Richard's  rule.  Richard  III.  ruled  well ;  in- 
deed, he  was  afraid  to  do  otherwise.  He  al^olished 
"benevolences"  and  treated  the  people  fairly  and  justly. 
He  had  the  laws  translated  into  English  for  the  first  time 
and  printed  ;  and  in  regard  to  printing  he  made  an  espe- 
cially good  law.  It  was  that,  although  foreigners  could 
not  trade  in  England  without  paying  a  tax,  any  one 
who  wished  to  write,  print,  bind,  or  sell  books  might  come 
as  freely  as  if  he  had  been  born  an  Englishman. 

Richard  did  not  feel  safe  so  long  as  those  two  little 
boys  in  the  Tower  were  alive ;  for  although  Parliament 
had  declared  that  they  had  no  right  to  the  crown,  their 
usurping  uncle  knew  that  at  any  moment  an  attempt 
Murder  oi  rnight  be  made  to  put  the  older  of  the  two  on 
the  princes,  ^j^g  throne.  The  story  was  spread  that  they 
had  mysteriously  disappeared,  but  every  one  believed  that 
Richard  had  killed  them.  It  was  whispered  from  one  to 
another  that  he  had  had  them  smothered  with  pillows 


1483] 


LANCASTER  AND   YORK 


151 


when  they  were  asleep.     No  one  dared  to  ask  questions, 
but  many  years    afterward   some    workmen   found  two 
little  skeletons  buried  at  the  foot  of  a  staircase  in  the 
Tower,   and   it  has 
been   thought   that 
they  were  those  of 
the     murdered 
princes. 

136.  Rising 
against  Richard. 
It  is  possible  that  if 
it  had  not  been  for 
this  murder,  Rich- 
ard might  have  re- 
mained  on  the 
throne  all  his  life ; 
but  after  this,  peo- 
ple were  every  day 
more  angry  and  dis- 
gusted with  him. 
Richard  thought 
that  perhaps  he 
could  win  men  to  his 
party  if  he  married 
one  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Edward  IV. 

She  had  already  been  betrothed  to  one  Henry  Tudor, 
Earl  of  Richmond,  and  she  was  Richard's  own  niece,  but 
he  believed  that  he  could  persuade  the  Pope  to  allow  the 
marriage,  and  that  this  would  end  all  trouble.  Instead 
of  being  satisfied,  the  English  people  were  so  indignant  at 
the  thought  of  such  a  deed  that  they  detested  Richard 
more  than  ever ;  and  now  they  set  to  work  in  earnest  to 
see  whom  they  could  put  on  the  throne  in  his  place. 


THE    PRINCES    IN    THE    TOWER 

From  an  ideal  painting  by  J.  E.  Millais 


152  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1485 

Of  Henry  Tudor  both  Edward  IV.  and  Richard  had 
always  been  afraid,  because  he,  too,  was  a  descendant  of 
Henry  Edward  III.  ;  and  they  had  pursued  him  so  that 

'  Tudor.  j^g  gg^ifj  l^g  \^^^  been  either  a  fugitive  or  in 
prison  ever  since  he  was  five  years  old.  His  friends 
believed  that  as  the  whole  nation  was  so  angry  with 
Richard,  they  could  now  place  this  Henry  Tudor  on  the 
throne.  He  came  from  France,  and  went  directly  to 
Wales,  because  his  grandfather  had  been  a  Welshman, 
and  he  felt  sure  that  the  Welsh  would  be  on  his  side. 

136.  Bosworth  Field  ends  the  Wars  of  the  Roses. 
He  was  right,  for  the  farther  he  marched,  the  larger 
grew  the  number  of  his  followers,  not  only  in  Wales, 
but  in  England.  Richard  was  getting  his  forces  together, 
of  course,  and  the  two  armies  met  at  Bosworth  Field, 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  here,  in  1485, 
the  last  battle  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses  was  fought. 
Richard  was  bravery  itself,  but  he  was  slain.  For 
these  two  years  of  power,  he  had  stopped  at  nothing  that 
he  thought  would  make  his  position  secure ;  for  there 
is  hardly  a  question  that  he  had  more  than  once  com- 
mitted most  brutal  murders  to  clear  his  way  to  the 
throne.  It  is  true  that  he  had  ruled  the  land  wisely  and 
justly,  and  he  had  loaded  many  of  his  followers  with 
wealth  and  honors,  yet  these  very  persons  had  deserted 
him  when  he  most  needed  their  help. 

Richard's  crown  was  found  on  the  battlefield,  "  hang- 
ing on  a  hawthorn  bush."  After  the  battle,  Henry  Tu- 
dor, Earl  of  Richmond,  stood  on  a  little  mound,  with  the 
dead  bodies  of  friends  and  foes  lying  on  either  hand, 

„  and  thanked  the  brave  soldiers  who  had  given 

Henry  ° 

Tudor  him  the  victory.     All  the  people  rejoiced  and 

shouted,  "  King   Henry  !    King   Henry  !  "  and 

then  a  certain  noble  earl  placed  the  crown  on  the  head 


1483-1485]  LANCASTER  AND   YORK  1 53 

of  the  new  king,  or,  as  some  say,  gave  it  to  him,  and  he 
placed  it  on  his  own  head.  Again  the  people  shouted 
for  joy  and  sang  the  Te  Deum,  for  the  wicked  king  was 
dead,  and  the  future  looked  very  bright  before  them. 

SUMMARY 

Richard  III.  secured  the  throne  by  usurpation,  and,  it  is 
probable,  by  the  murder  of  more  than  one  who  was  likely  to 
interfere  with  his  schemes.  Having  won  the  crown  by  unfair 
means,  he  dared  not  rule  otherwise  than  well;  but  public 
opinion  against  him  increased  rapidly,  and  after  a  reign  of 
two  years  he  was  slain  in  the  battle  of  Bosworth  Field,  and 
Henry  Tudor,  of  the  House  of  Lancaster,  became  king.  This 
was  the  last  battle  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses. 

One  thing  in  Richard's  favor  is  that  he  was  among  the  first 
to  see  the  value  of  the  printing-press,  and  that  he  did  all  in 
his  power  to  encourage  the  making  of  books  in  England. 


154 


STORY       [I4th-i6th  Cent 


-|c'. 


l)  t:  rt  3^  c  ^  " 

•gs  F,  . <u  <s  >  =" 


3   '^ 

.S  o 


«v^ 


-. .  .  hJ 


^1 

S3 

fc5i 


O  m 


O  o 


<u  o 


-:i' 


III 


V  u 


§31 

SB'S 


raoo 


Pi  2- 


I— I     CO 

TJOO 


to 

.«  g  " 

-  c  x'>  c 


0)    f. 


> 


1 


O  'a     „  u 

-.2- ,i^"^-^o- 

«        3c!3     Sols 


f      II  ^^-s. 


t:  rt-g  o  3  o 


■is 


P^f^ 


s 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS 
1485-1603 

19.  Henry  VH.     1485-1509 

137.  A  strong  rule.  Henry  VI I.  was  now  on  the 
throne,  and  as  his  grandfather  had  been  a  Welshman 
named  Owen  Tudor,  Henry  and  his  son  and  his  three 
grandchildren  are  known  as  the  Tudors.  They  were  all 
sovereigns  who  meant  to  have  their  own  way,  and  they 
generally  succeeded. 

In  one  respect  England  was  just  at  that  time  an  easy 
country  to  rule,  for  the  clergy  desired  a  strong  gov- 
ernment, and  more  than  half  of  the  nobles,  who  might 
have  opposed  the  royal  sway,  had  been  killed  in  the 
Wars  of  the  Roses  that  had  ended  with  the  battle  of 
Bosworth  Field.  The  other  nobles  had  much  less  power 
than  their  grandfathers  had  had,  for  now  that  so  little  of 
the  old  feudalism  survived,  they  could  not  easily  call 
together  men  to  fight  in  support  of  whatever  cause  they 
chose.  Henry  weakened  still  more  the  power  of  the 
nobles  to  revolt  by  forbidding  them  to  give  liveries  or 
badges  to  their  retainers.  The  use  of  gunpowder,  too, 
made  the  king  much  stronger  than  any  party  of.  nobles, 
since  he  had  control  of  the  cannon  of  the  state, 
and  the  bows  and  arrows  of  the  yeomen  were  a  York  and 
small  matter  when  opposed  to  cannon.  For  ^"^caster. 
these   reasons   it  was   not  difficult  for   a  strong-willed 


156 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[i486 


ruler  to  make  his  country 


ELIZABETH    OF   YORK 

volts,  but  none  that  Henry 

LamDert         O^ice    brought 

sinmei.  forward  with  the 
claim  that  he  was  a  nephew 
of  Edward  IV.,  but  riot 
many  believed  in  him,  and 
he  was  soon  taken  pris- 
oner. It  was  easily  found 
out  that  his  real  name  was 
Lambert  Simnel.  Henry 
was  amused  rather  than 
angry,  and  told  his  officers 
to  take  the  boy  to  the 
kitchen  and  let  him  work 
there  in  peace. 


more  united  than  it  had  ever 
been  before.  There 
was  now  no  excuse 
for  continuing  the 
Wars  of  the  Roses, 
since  Henry,  who 
was  of  the  house 
of  Lancaster,  had 
married  Princess 
Elizabeth  of  the 
house  of  York,  sis- 
ter of  the  two  lit- 
tle princes  who 
had  been  murdered 
in  the  Tower  of 
LondoiL 

138.    Pretend- 
ers.     Of   course 
there  were  some  re- 
needed  to  fear.     A  boy  was 


HENRY  VII. 


148S-1492.J  THE   TUDOR  SOVEREIGNS  15/ 

Not  long  after  this  another  boy,  or  rather  young  man, 
teamed  Perkin  Warbeck,  was  brought  forward  as  a  claim- 
ant to  the  throne.  He  said  that  while  the  older  perkin 
of  the  two  little  princes  in  the  Tower  had  been  warbeck. 
murdered,  he  himself  was  the  younger  ;  and  he  had  a  plau- 
sible story  to  tell  of  how  he  had  made  his  escape.  The 
young  man  had  been  taught  ;nost  carefully  the  special 
things  that  the  prince  would  naturally  know ;  and  as  he 
was  supported  by  two  kings,  an  emperor,  and  other 
people  of  high  rank,  this  attempt  to  claim  the  English 
crown  was  of  much  more  consequence  than  that  of  Lam- 
bert Simnel.  Many  of  the  Irish  and  of  the  Scotch  were 
inclined  to  help  Warbeck,  and  he  made  various  efforts 
to  win  followers,  going  from  one  country  to  another,  or 
to  those  districts  of  England  where  for  any  reason  the 
people  were  feeling  discontented.  These  efforts  to  gain 
the  crown  actually  lasted  for  five  years,  but  at  length 
the  pretender  was  shut  up  in  the  Tower  and  finally  be- 
headed. 

139.  Henry's  methods  of  raising  money.  A  ques- 
tion that  was  far  more  important  to  Henry's  mind  than 
the  claims  of  any  pretenders  was  that  of  filling  the  royal 
treasury.  The  English  people  had  had  considerable 
experience  in  dealing  with  kings,  and  Henry  was  wise 
enough  to  know  that  if  the  masses  of  the  nation  were 
opposed  to  him,  there  would  be  little  of  either  comfort 
or  safety  for  him  on  the  throne.  It  would  not  do,  then, 
to  tax  the  people  as  a  whole  too  severely.  Moreover,  he 
could  not  tax  them  without  the  permission  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  he  greatly  preferred  not  to  summon  Parliament 
too  frequently,  but  to  go  on  quietly  in  his  own  way  with- 
out giving  much  opportunity  for  the  making  of  laws  that 
might  not  be  according  to  his  wishes. 

With  Parliament  not  in  session  and  the  nation  as  a 


158  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1485-1S09 

whole  in  his  favor,  he  could  venture  to  take  from  the 
"Morton's  ^ich,  and  this  he  did.  He  called  for  the  "be- 
Fork."  nevolences  "  which  Edward  IV.  had  originated 
and  Richard  III.  had  abolished.  One  Cardinal  Morton 
is  said  to  have  invented  a  plan  known  as  "Morton's 
Fork,"  by  which  Henry  could  get  money  from  any  one 
that  had  it.  If  a  man  lived  expensively,  the  king's  agenx 
would  say  to  him,  "  You  are  spending  so  much  on  your- 
self that  you  may  rightfully  be  required  to  contribute  to 
the  expenses  of  your  sovereign."  This  was  one  tine  of 
the  fork.  The  other  was  quite  as  bad  ;  for  if  a  man  lived 
simply  and  without  extravagance,  the  agent  would  say, 
"Your  living  costs  you  so  little  that  you  must  have 
enough  laid  by  to  make  a  generous  gift  to  the  king ; " 
and  this  was  the  other  tine  of  the  fork. 

Another  way  to  get  money  was  by  means  of  what  was 
called  the  "  Star-Chamber  Court,"  so  named  because 
The  star  Stars  were  painted  on  the  ceiling  of  the  room 
Chamber,  j^  which  it  was  held.  This  court  was  made  up 
of  men  who  supported  whatever  the  king  wished  to  do, 
and  their  business  was  to  bring  up  the  offences  of  wealthy 
people  who  could  not  easily  be  tried  in  the  ordinary 
courts,  or  whose  misdemeanors  did  not  fall  strictly  under 
the  laws.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  offences  were  always 
punished  by  fines,  and  that  these  fines  were  made  as 
large  as  the  court  thought  the  men  could  be  forced  to 
pay. 

A  third  way  of  getting  money  was  by  reviving  old 
laws  that  people  had  forgotten,  and  demanding  fines 
Reviving  whenever  one  was  broken.  By  these  means 
old  laws.  Henry  accumulated  a  fortune  that  has  been 
estimated  at  about  one  hundred  million  dollars. 

In  the  marriages  arranged  for  his  children,  Henry  was 
always  on  the  lookout  for  gain.     One  daughter  became 


1492-1509]  THE   TUDOR  SOVEREIGNS  159 

the  wife  of  the  king  of  Scotland,  and  the  eldest  son,  Ar- 
thur, was  married  to  a  young  girl  of  fifteen,   wealthy 
called  Katharine  of  Aragon,  the  daughter  of  n^aniages. 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Spain.     When  Henry's  wife 
died,  he  did  his  best  to  secure  another  who  would  bring 
him  a  large  amount  of  money.     First,  he  sought  the 


GENERAL   COSTUME   IN   TIME   OF   HENRY   VII. 

hand  of  the  widow  of  the  king  of  Naples,  but  the  reign- 
ing sovereign  refused  to  pay  her  the  immense  fortune 
that  her  husband  had  left  her ;  and  Henry  then  tried  to 
get  the  sister  of  Philip,  the  ruler  of  Castile.  Just  at  that 
time  Philip  died,  and  as  Henry  thought  that  Philip's 
widow  would  have  more  money  than  the  sister,  he  applied 
for  her  hand.  She  was  partially  insane,  but  that  did  not 
matter  to  Henry  so  long  as  she  would  bring  him  a  large 
dowry.  Her  father,  Ferdinand  of  Spain,  refused  to  sanc- 
tion any  such  marriage,  and  was  so  little  pleased  with 


l6o  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1492 

the  treatment  of  his  daughter  Katharine  in  England  that 
it  was  not  until  after  Henry's  death  and  her  second  mar- 
riage, this  time  to  Henry's  second  son,  that  her  complete 
dowry  was  paid. 

140.  Why  England  did  not  discover  America.  It 
was  chiefly  because  of  Henry's  dislike  to  spend  money 
that  the  honor  of  the  discovery  of  America  fell  to  Spain 
rather  than  to  England.  Columbus  tried  in  one  kingdom 
and  another  to  find  a  ruler  who  would  provide  him  with 
ships  and  money,  and  at  last  he  sent  his  brother  to  Eng- 
land to  lay  the  matter  before  Henry.  The  brother  was 
captured  by  pirates,  but  he  had  good  courage  and  finally 
made  his  way  to  England.  Unfortunately  he  was  in  rags, 
and  his  good  courage  would  count  for  little  if  he  had  not 
also  proper  clothes  in  which  to  appear  at  the  king's  court. 
There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  to  work  and  earn 
some  clothes.  He  set  about  making  money  by  drawing 
maps,  and  at  last  he  had  an  interview  with  Henry.  The 
king  was  much  interested,  but  the  plans  of  Columbus 
would  require  a  large  expenditure,  and  he  hesitated.  He 
hesitated  too  long,  and  in  1492  Columbus  set  sail  by  the 
aid  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Spain,  and  England  had 
TheCabots  ^^st  her  chance  to  discover  the  New  World. 
^^'  Henry  must  have  been  sorry,  for  five  years  later 
he  encouraged  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  two  Vene- 
tians who  lived  in  England,  to  make  a  voyage.  They 
went  directly  west  and  came  to  Newfoundland,  which 
was  spoken  of  as  the  "New  Isle." 

141.  Growth  of  the  world.  In  the  days  of  Julius 
Caesar  it  was  said  that  Rome  "  ruled  the  world,"  but  it 
was  a  very  small  world,  for  people  knew  little  of  any 
part  except  the  lands  bordering  upon  the  Mediterranean 
Sea.  In  all  the  fifteen  centuries  since  Caesar's  time  the 
world  had  grown  but  little  larger.     Most  countries  had 


I492-I497]         THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS 


i6i 


been  too  much  engaged  in  fighting  to  explore  the  ocean 
in  search  of  more  land ;  but  now  one  discoverer  after 
another  set  out,  and  when  they  came  back  they  brought 
wonderful  stories  of 
the  strange  new 
country,  where  the 
rivers  were  wider  and 
the  forests  greater 
than  any  in  England. 
There  were  new 
birds  and  flowers, 
strange  beasts  and 
reptiles,  rumors  of 
great  stores  of  gold, 
and,  most  amazing  of 
all,  there  was  a  new 
race  of  people,  un- 
like any  that  had 
been  known  before. 
It  was  like  a  marvel- 
lous fairy  tale  that 
had  suddenly  come 
true.  How  the  people 
must  have  gathered 
around  the  men  who 
had  made  the  voyage, 
and  how  every  boy 
that  had  watched  one 

of  the  ships  come  in  must  have  longed  to  be  a  sailor,  and 
go  to  see  the  wonderful  sights  of  the  land  across  the  water ! 
If  these  lands  lay  in  the  west,  who  knew  what  might 
lie  in  the  east  ?     Vasco  da  Gama  set  sail  to  see  y^g^^  ^^ 
whether  he  could  go  around  the  vast  unknown  Oama. 
country  that  lay  to  the  south  of  the  Mediterranean.     He 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  HENRY  VH.,  WESTMINSTER 
ABBEY 


l62  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1485-1509 

succeeded  and  came  to  Asia,  another  world  as  full  of 
marvels  as  America,  and,  except  for  a  small  part  of  the 
coast,  almost  as  unknown. 

142.  Condition  of  the  kingdom.  It  was  in  the  midst 
of  these  exciting  times  that  the  boy  was  growing  up  who 
was  to  become  Henry  VIII.,  king  of  England.  His 
father  and  his  mother  were  laid  in  the  chapel  of  West- 
minster, whose  windows  were  covered  with  a  tracery 
of  roses  of  red  and  roses  of  white  to  mark  the  union 
of  the  Houses  of  Lancaster  and  York.  His  father  left 
him  a  realm  that  was  united,  prosperous,  and  accustomed 
to  a  firm  rule ;  and  in  the  royal  treasury  was  such  a  for- 
tune as  had  never  before  been  in  the  hands  of  an  Eng- 
lish sovereign. 

SUMMARY 

With  Henry  VII.  began  the  "  personal  monarchy  "  of  the 
strong-willed  Tudors.  Henry  had  so  firm  a  hold  on  the 
crown  by  the  decree  of  Parliament,  by  the  result  of  battle, 
and  by  his  marriage,  that  the  efforts  of  pretenders  to  the 
throne  were  useless.  To  obtain  money  he  resorted  to  benevo- 
lences and  other  questionable  schemes,  but  any  possible  re- 
volt of  the  nobles  against  a  king  who  controlled  the  cannon 
of  the  country  was  hopeless.  He  left  a  full  treasury  and  a 
peaceful,  united  country,  well  wonted  to  obey  its  sovereign. 
The  discovery  of  a  western  world  and  the  spread  of  know- 
ledge resulting  from  the  invention  of  printing  prepared  the 
way  for  the  intellectual  awakening  that  was  soon  to  come. 

20.  Henry  VIII.     1 509-1 547 

143.  A  popular  king.  When  Henry  VIII.  came  to 
the  throne,  the  country  had  every  reason  to  rejoice.  He 
was  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  handsome,  graceful,  and 
with  a  frank,  hearty  manner  that  made  every  one  like 


1509]  THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  163 

him.  He  could  leap  farther  and  shoot  an  arrow  farther 
than  any  of  his  companions.  One  of  the  old  writers 
says,  "  It  is  the  prettiest  thing  in  the  world  to  see  him 
play  tennis,"  When 
May-Day  came,  he 
was  not  satisfied  to 
remain  in  his  palace 
and  have  the  green 
boughs  brought  to 
him;  he  clothed 
himself  and  his  spe- 
cial attendants  in 
white  satin  in  honor 
of  the  season,  and 
went  to  the  woods 
with  them.  He  was 
well  educated,  and 
he  was  fond  of  books 
and  of  music.  He 
wrote  songs,  some 
of  which  have  come 
down  to  us.  One  of 
them,     queerly 

enough  in  view  of  his  later  life,  is  about  his  faithfulness 
in  love.     It  says  :  — 

**  As  the  holly  groweth  green, 
And  never  changeth  hue, 
So  am  I  —  ever  have  been  — 
To  my  lady  true." 

He  liked  to  wear  handsome  clothes  and  to  have  a  good 
time ;  and  after  all  the  hard,  gloomy  years  of  fighting 
and  bloodshed,  it  was  a  real  delight  to  the  English  peo- 
ple to  see  this  merry  young  man  enjoy  himself.  They 
were  sure  that  he  would  be  kind  to  them,  for  almost  the 


HENRY    VIII. 


l64  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1509-1520 

first  thing  that  he  did  after  he  was  fairly  on  the  throne 
was  to  punish  the  men  who  had  helped  his  father  to  ex- 
tort money  so  unjustly.  No  one  stopped  to  question 
whether  it  was  these  men  or  Henry  VII.  who  had  been 
the  more  in  fault,  and  no  one  seems  to  have  noticed  that 
this  upright  young  king  made  no  attempt  to  give  back 
the  money. 

144.  Condition  of  Wales  and  Scotland.  The  Welsh 
no  longer  revolted,  for  as  Henry  was  a  Tudor,  they  felt 
that  a  Welshman  was  ruling  England  rather  than  that 
England  was  ruling  them.  Scotland,  it  is  true,  made  an 
invasion,  but  there  was  a  terrible  battle  at  Flodden  Field, 
Hodden  ^^^  ^^^  Scotch  retreated  with  a  loss  of  many 
iBia"  thousands.     Among  those  who  were  slain  was 

the  Scotch  king,  and  now  there  was  little  fear 
of  any  further  trouble  with  Scotland. 

145.  Three  young  rulers.  On  the  continent  Henry 
wished  at  first  for  an  alliance  with  France ;  and  to  bring 
it  about  he  gave  the  hand  of  his  sister  Mary,  a  merry, 
fascinating  girl  of  seventeen,  to  the  aged  French  king, 
though  she  wished  to  marry  a  nobleman  named  Charles 
Brandon,  The  French  king  soon  died,  and  now  the 
ruler  of  France,  Francis  I.,  and  the  German  emperor, 
Charles  V.,  both  ambitious  young  men,  were  each  eager 
for  Henry's  influence  and  aid.  Charles  came  to  Eng- 
land to  visit  him,  and  Francis  invited  Henry  to  a  meeting 
in  France. 

The  English  still  held  Calais,  and  this  meeting  was 
The  palace  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^  plain  between  their  castle  and  one 
at  Calais.  belonging  to  the  French.  Great  were  the  pre- 
parations. Henry  sent  over  more  than  two  thousand 
workmen  to  build  a  temporary  palace  with  stone  walls 
and  glass  windows.  The  roof  was  to  be  of  canvas  "  cu- 
riously garnished."     The  rooms  were  to  be  larger  than 


I520] 


THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS 


165 


those  of  any  English  house,  and  the  walls  were  to  be 
hung  with  tapestry  embroidered  with  silk  and  gold. 
In  two  months  the  building  was  ready,  and  Henry  sailed 
from  Dover  for  Calais  with  a  fleet  of  those  top-heavy, 
castle-like  vessels  that  look  in  the  pictures  as  if  they 
would  topple  over  at  a  breath. 

Three  weeks  the  young  kings  spent  on  the  "  Field  of 
the  Cloth  of  Gold,"  as  the  place  was  afterwards 
called  from  the  magnificence  of  the  dress  and  of  the  cioth 
the  entertainment.    There  was  tilting,  and  there  **'  ^°^*" 
were  tournaments  and  all  kinds  of  feats  of  arms,  at  which. 


ENGLISH    WAR    SHIP   WHICH    CONVEYED    HENRY    VIII.   TO    FRANCE 


of  course,  the  two  kings  always  won.  Finally,  the  sover- 
eigns exchanged  gifts  and  bade  farewell  to  each  other. 
In  spite  of  all  the  lavishness  and  all  the  promises  of 


l66  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1453-1521 

brotherhood,  Henry's  help  was  given  to  Charles  ;  but  by 
and  by  when  Francis  was  taken  prisoner,  Henry  went  to 
his  aid,  though  he  exacted  liberal  payment  for  his  assist- 
Henry'sfor-  ^^^ce.  Henry's  aim  was  to  keep  the  power  of 
eign  policy.  Francis  and  of  Charles  as  nearly  equal  as  possi- 
ble, lest  one  or  the  other  should  become  too  strong  for 
England  to  resist. 

146.  The  Renaissance.  Henry  was  interested  not 
only  in  statecraft  but  in  the  wonderful  new  learning  that 
was  spreading  over  the  world.  In  1453,  the  year  that 
the  Hundred  Years'  War  closed,  the  Turks  captured 
Constantinople.  Many  learned  Greeks  lived  in  this  city, 
and  they  went  away  to  Italy,  especially  to  Florence. 
Long  before  Caesar  came  to  Britain,  the  Greeks  were 
a  remarkable  nation.  They  had  great  poets  and  his- 
torians and  philosophers,  and  their  sculptors  did  finer 
work  than  any  one  has  done  since  those  days.  For 
centuries  people  had  forgotten  all  this.  Hardly  any  one 
in  England  could  read  Greek,  and  the  clergy  called  it  a 
wicked  and  heathenish  tongue.  When  the  Greeks  came 
to  Florence  and  taught  the  Florentines  to  read  their 
language,  men  began  to  realize  what  valuable  old  books 
there  were  in  the  world.  This  new  interest  in  the  old 
knowledge  is  called  the  Renaissance,  or  the  7iew  birth. 
It  spread  rapidly  over  the  continent,  for  printing  had 
come  at  just  the  right  time  to  help  people  to  get  copies 
of  the  old  manuscripts.  England  soon  became  inter- 
ested, for  English  scholars  went  to  Italy  to  study,  and 
they  brought  books  and  knowledge  back  with  them  to 
their  own  country.  The  influence  of  the  Renaissance 
had  been  felt  in  England  even  before  Henry  came  to  the 
throne,  and  he  had  always  been  ready  to  strengthen  it. 

147.  Henry  as  a  theologian.  Henry  had  quite  an 
ambition  to  be  known  as  a  literary  nian  and  a  theologian. 


1521-1528]         THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  167 

and  before  long  the  opportunity  presented  itself.  In 
Germany,  Martin  Luther,  who  was  a  monk  and  a  pro- 
fessor at  the  University  of  Wittenberg,  had  declared  that 
certain  abuses  existed  in  the  church  which  ought  to 
be  reformed,  and  the  pope  had  excommunicated  him. 
Henry  wrote  a  book  on  the  subject  in  favor  of  Defender oi 
the  pope's  position,  and  received  as  a  reward  theFaitii. 
the  title  of  "  Defender  of  the  Faith." 

148.  Henry's  first  marriage.  Thus  far  matters  had 
gone  according  to  the  will  of  the  king.  He  was  power- 
ful at  home  and  abroad.  His  kingdom  was  prosperous, 
and  he  had  won  glory  as  a  writer  and  theologian  and 
as  a  faithful  son  of  the  church  ;  but  one  thing  began  to 
trouble  him  greatly.  Who  would  inherit  his  crown } 
He  had  a  daughter  Mary,  but  no  woman  had  ever 
ruled  the  English  nation.  Before  his  father's  death,  when 
Henry  was  only  twelve  years  old,  it  had  been  agreed 
that  the  boy  should  marry  Katharine  of  Aragon,  the 
widow  of  his  older  brother  Arthur.  It  was  against  the 
law  to  marry  a  brother's  widow,  but  the  pope  had  given 
the  special  permission  of  the  church,  and  two  months 
after  the  accession  Henry  and  Katharine  were  married. 

149.  His  struggle  for  a  divorce.  Henry  now  de- 
clared that  he  ought  not  to  have  become  Katharine's 
husband,  even  if  the  pope  did  give  him  permission,  and 
he  wished  the  present  pope  to  declare  that  the  marriage 
had  never  been  lawful.  It  would  be  easier  to  have  con- 
fidence in  his  scruples  of  conscience,  if  he  had  not  al- 
ready chosen  the  woman  whom  he  wished  to  j^^^ 
take  in  Katharine's  stead.  She  was  a  young  Boieyn. 
girl  named  Anne  Boleyn,  daughter  of  an  English  no- 
bleman. As  a  child  of  seven  she  had  gone  to  France 
when  Henry's  sister  Mary  married  the  old  French  king. 
When  the  king  died,   Mary  married  Charles  Brandon, 


i68 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1528 


and  came  to  England  to .  persuade  her  royal  brother  to 
forgive  her  husband  and  herself;  but  the  little  Anne 
remained  in  France  with  the  wife  of  Francis  I.  When 
at  last  she  returned  to  England  and  appeared  at  court, 


WOLSEY   AND    HIS   SUITE 


Henry  was  greatly  pleased  with  her  beauty  and  anima- 
tion, and  he  determined  that  she  should  be  his  queen. 

He  had  a  minister  named  Wolsey,  who,  as  he  trusted, 
could  gain  the  pope's  consent  to  a  marriage  with  Anne. 
Cardinal  Wolsey  had  for  years  devoted  himself  to  carry- 
woisey.  ing  out  every  wish  of  the  king's  and  to  increas- 
ing his  greatness.  This  was  exactly  what  pleased  Henry. 
He  could  be  free  to  do  what  he  chose,  and  yet  feel  that 
everything  was  going  on  as  he  would  have  desiited.  As 
a  reward,  Wolsey  had  been  made  archbishop  and  lord 
chancellor,  and  finally  cardinal.  He  lived  in  a  beautiful 
palace,  "where  one  traverses  eight  rooms  before  reach- 
ing his  audience  chamber,"  says  an  old  writer.  The  de- 
scription of  his  house  sounds  like  a  chapter  from  the 


1528]  THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  169 

"Arabian  Nights."  There  were  beautiful  carpets  and 
silken  tapestries.  It  is  said  that  he  had  five  hundred 
servants,  and  that  some  of  them  wore  heavy  chains  of 
gold  and  garments  of  satin  and  of  velvet,  as  if  they  were 
noblemen.  When  the  cardinal  went  out,  two  attendants 
walked  before  him  and  called,  "  Make  way  for  my  lord 
cardinal."  At  the  house-door  he  would  mount  a  mule 
saddled  with  crimson  velvet,  and  two  men  would  go  with 
him,  each  bearing  a  great  silver  cross,  while  a  long  line 
of  nobles  followed  in  his  train. 

Although  he  lived  in  such  splendor,  he  was  thoughtful 
of  the  poor,  and  tried  to  do  for  them  what  was  just  and 
kind.  As  all  affairs  of  state  and  church  were  really 
in  his  hands,  he  did  for  many  years  very  nearly  what 
he  chose.  The  Venetian  ambassador  wrote  home  that 
when  he  first  came  to  England,  Wolsey  would  say,  ^'Hts 
Majesty  will  do  so  and  so ; "  a  little  later  he  would  say, 
"  We  shall  do  so  and  so  ;"  and  finally  he  said,  "/  shall 
do  so  and  so." 

150.  The  Pope's  refusal.  Inasmuch  as  Wolsey  had 
shown  so  much  skill  in  managing  the  affairs  of  the  nation 
at  home  and  abroad,  it  is  no  wonder  that  Henry  believed 
bis  minister  could  get  him  a  divorce  from  Katharine. 
Wolsey  seems  at  first  to  have  favored  the  idea,  thhik- 
ing  that  Henry  would  marry  a  French  princess,  and  that 
while  the  king  might  have  a  son,  and  then  there  would 
be  no  question  about  the  succession,  he  himself  might 
by  the  influence  of  France  and  England  be  chosen  for 
the  next  pope.  However  that  may  be,  the  pope  was  in 
a  difficult  position.  To  declare  that  the  act  of  the  pre- 
ceding pope  was  wrong  was  a  serious  matter,  and  more- 
over, the  queen  was  an  aunt  of  the  powerful  Charles  V. 
There  was  a  long  delay,  but  at  last  the  pope  refused  to 
annul  the  marriage.     Both  Henry  and  Anne  Boleyn  be- 


I/O 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1529-1534 


lieved  that  Wolsey  had  not  done  his  best  for  them,  and 
all  in  a  moment  the  minister's  wealth  and  position  were 
taken  from  him.  The  vindictiveness  of  the  pair  went 
so  far  that  he  was  arrested  on  a  charge  of  treason,  but 

he  died  before  he  could 
be  brought  to  trial. 

161.  Henry  as  head 
of  the  church.  1534. 
Henry  then  appealed 
to  the  universities, 
trusting,  it  is  probable, 
to  bribes  and  threats 
rather  than  to  the  truth 
of  his  cause.  Then  he 
demanded  that  the 
English  clergy  should 
uphold  him,  and  after 
a  delay  of  five  years  he 
married  Anne.  The 
pope  threatened  him 
with  excommunication 
if  he  did  not  put  her  away,  but  Henry  retorted  in  1534 
by  forcing  Parliament  to  declare  that  he  himself  was* 
the  only  head  of  the  church  in  England,  and  that  who- 
ever denied  this  was  guilty  of  treason.  Henry  still 
retained  his  title  of  "  Defender  of  the  Faith,"  and  had 
no  sympathy  with  the  Protestant  Reformation,  which 
had  begun  with  the  teachings  of  Luther.  The  re- 
sult of  this  peculiar  condition  of  things  was  that  if  a 
Burned  or  ™^^  was  a  Protestant  and  agreed  with  Luther, 
beheaded?  j^g  might  be  burned  as  a  heretic ;  while  if  he 
was  a  Roman  Catholic  and  said  that  the  pope  was  the 
head  of  the  church,  he  might  be  beheaded  as  a  traitor. 
Some  of  the  best  men  in  the  kingdom  were  put  to  death, 


THOMAS  WOLSEY 


1534-1536]         THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  171 

and  among  them  were  two  especially  upright,  conscien- 
tious men,  Bishop  Fisher  and  Sir  Thomas  More.  More 
was  a  man  who  could  see  what  was  right,  no  matter  what 
tjie  people  around  him  thought ;  for  instance,  children 
were  still  treated  as  cruelly  as  the  little  Henry  VI.  had 
been,  but  More  would  never  allow  any  harshness  in  his 
family.  He  knew  so  well  what  a  kingdom  should  be  that 
he  wrote  a  little  book  called  "Utopia,"  mean- 
ing Nowhere,  which  tells  the  story  of  a  happy 
country  where  no  one  was  rich  and  no  one  was  poor, 
where  no  one  worked  too  hard,  and  no  one  was  idle. 
Every  one  had  a  pleasant  house  and  garden  and  leisure 
to  read.  Gold  was  used  for  the  chains  of  criminals,  and 
pearls  and  diamonds  were  given  to  children  for  play- 
things. Kings  ruled-  for  the  sake  of  their  people,  and 
every  one  was  treated  justly  and  kindly. 

The  pope  excommunicated  Henry,  but  the  king  re- 
taliated by  taking  possession  of  the  smaller  English  mon- 
asteries, a  deed  that  had  been  suggested  a  cen-  Henry 
tury  before.     Their  lands  were  given  to  royal  ^onaV^* 
favorites,  their  gold  and  silver  vessels  and  images  t^ies. 
were  melted  and  made  into  coin,  and  their  books,  many  of 
Which  would  to-day  be  worth  far  more  than  their  weight 
in  gold,  were  torn  up  or  burned.     The  monks  and  nuns 
received  small  pensions,  and  that  was  their  only  recom- 
pense. 

152.  Suffering  of  the  poor.  This  destruction  of  the 
monasteries,  many  hundreds  of  them,  was  one  of  several 
causes  that  brought  distress  upon  the  poor  of  the  king- 
dom, for  the  hungry  had  always  been  sure  of  a  meal 
at  the  convent  gate.  There  were  other  reasons  for  the 
suffering.  One  was  that  the  king  had  put  so  much 
cheap  metal  into  the  coins  that  prices  had  risen.  If 
prices  and  wages  had  gone  up  at  the  same  rate,  the 


1/2  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1346-1536 

poor  would  not  have  suffered  so  severely ;  but  wages 
rose  slowly  while  prices  rose  rapidly,  and  there  was  great 
destitution  of  the  plainest  necessities  of  life.  Still  an- 
other reason  was  the  prevalence  of  sheep-raising.  While 
the  poorer  people  lived  on  the  manors,  they 

Sheep-  ^  r    r       1  1     1     1  ,  1       , 

farms  and  were  sure  of  food  and  shelter  at  least,  whether 
inciosures.  ^j^^^  were  sick  or  well,  but  when  so  many  vil- 
leins became  free  after  the  Black  Death  and  the  battle 
of  Crecy,  and  the  price  of  labor  rose,  men  who  owned 
manors  turned  them  into  great  sheep-farms,  because  one 
man  and  a  dog  were  all  the  help  needed  to  care  for  a 
large  number  of  sheep.  The  same  thing  was  done  in* 
Henry's  reign  ;  and,  worse  than  this,  the  commons  where 
the  poor  had  always  had  the  right  to  pasture  a  cow  or 
keep  a  pig  were  inclosed  for  the  landlord's  sheep.  This 
seizure  of  the  commons,  taken  together  with  the  loss  of 
help  from  the  convents,  made  the  poor  who  were  old  and 
feeble  suffer  severely.  Many  of  those  that  were  strong 
and  well  and  could  find  no  work  became  robbers  and 
beggars.  They  roamed  about  the  land,  gathering  in  the 
forests  through  which  the  roads  ran,  and  robbed  or  mur- 
dered unguarded  travellers.  The  whole  kingdom,  seemed 
to  have  become  a  nest  of  thieves. 

All  sorts  of  laws  were  passed,  not  to  make  life  better 
for  the  poor,  but  simply  to  prevent  their  being  a  danger 
to  the  rich.  One  law  was  that  every  "sturdy 
against  beggar"  was  to  be  whipped  and  told  to  go  to 
beggars.  ^^^  place  in  which  he  was  born  ;  and  if  he  was 
too  long  in  making  the  journey,  he  was  to  be  whipped 
again  in  every  village.  This  was  the  penalty  for  the 
first  offence.  If  a  man  was  found  begging  a  second  time, 
he  was  to  be  whipped  again  and  the  upper  part  of  his 
right  ear  was  to  be  cut  off.  The  third  time  he  was  to 
be  put  into  jail  and  tried,  and,  if  found  guilty,  to  be 


1536-1537]  THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  1/3 

hanged.  There  was  no  effort  made  to  reform  the  "  sturdy 
beggar"  or  to  provide  work  for  him,  and  no  plan  was 
made  to  assist  the  aged  and  the  sick  ;  the  whole  aim  of 
the  law  seemed  to  be  to  get  rid  of  troublesome  people. 

163.  A  third  marriage.  While  these  things  were 
going  on,  Henry,  instead  of  trying  to  find  a  wise  remedy 
for  the  evils,  was  again  considering  the  question  of  mar- 
riage. He  was  apparently  somewhat  tired  of  Anne 
Boleyn,  though  three  years  earlier  he  had  overthrown 
the  church  and  the  law  to  marry  her.  She  had  brought 
him  a  daughter,  Elizabeth,  but  he  still  had  no  son. 
There  were  plenty  of  people  to  suggest  that  the  power- 
ful Charles  V.  would  never  accept  a  child  of  Katharine's 
successor  as  the  lawful  inheritor  of  the  crown.  Others 
hinted  that  the  lack  of  a  son  was  a  proof  of  the  anger  of 
Heaven  at  his  second  marriage.  It  was  not  at  all  diffi- 
cult to  find  people  to  testify  to  whatever  would  please 
the  king,  and  the  result  was  that  after  three  years  of  mar- 
riage Anne  was  accused  of  misconduct,  and  her  head  was 
struck  off  with  a  sword.  The  next  day  the  king  married 
Jane  Seymour ;  and  Parliament  met  at  once  to  declare 
that  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  as  well  as  the  Princess  Mary, 
should  never  inherit  the  crown. 

Jane  Seymour  died,  leaving  one  child,  who  was  named 
Edward,  and  now  Henry  had  a  son  to  whom  he  could 
leave  the  crown.  Nevertheless,  he  straightway  ordered 
his  councillors  to  find  him  a  new  bride.  Thomas  Crom- 
well, who  had  taken  the  place  of  Wolsey,  was  very  de- 
sirous that  the  next  queen  of  England  should  be  a 
Protestant,  so  that  the  Roman  Catholics  might  gain  no 
ground  in  the  realm.  Henry  did  not  yield  at  once.  It 
is  said  that  he  proposed  to  the  Duchess  of  Milan  that 
she  should  share  his  throne,  and  that  she  replied  with 
a  profound  courtesy  :  — 


174 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1537-1539 


"  I  humbly  thank  your  majesty  for  the  honor  that  you 
do  me.  If  I  had  two  heads,  one  should  be  at  your 
majesty's  service;  but  as  I  have  only  one,  I  prefer  to 
remain  as  I  am." 

154.  Henry's  other  marriages.  Cromwell  was  trying 
to  interest  the  king  in  one  Anne  of  Cleves,  a  German 
princess,  and  he  wrote  of  her  to  Henry,  "  She  excelleth 
as  far  the  duchess  as  the  golden  sun  excelleth  the  silvery 

moon."     He   admitted 

that  she  knew  neither 
French,  Latin,  nor  Eng- 
lish, but  he  was  sure 
that  she  would  soon 
learn  to  converse  with 
the  king.  She  spent 
much  of  her  time  in 
sewing,  and  was  igno- 
rant of  music ;  but,  he 
said,  "They  take  it  here 
in  Germany  for  a  re- 
buke that  great  ladies 
should  be  learned  or 
have  any  knowledge  of 
music."  Finally,  a  famous  artist  was  engaged  to  paint 
the  portrait  of  this  paragon  of  beauty  and  goodness,  and 
the  king  agreed  to  marry  her. 

There  were  great  preparations  for  her  reception,  but 
one  of  the  king's  officers  said  after  his  first  glimpse  of 
her  that  he  was  never  so  much  dismayed  in  his  life  ; 
and  when  Henry  met  her,  he  was,  as  the  record  declares, 
"  marvellously  astonished  and  abashed."  He  embraced 
her  with  all  propriety,  but  he  hardly  spoke  at  all,  and  quite 
forgot  to  give  her  the  present  that  he  had  brought  for 
her.     It  is  said  that  she  was  really  exceedingly  homely 


THOMAS    CROMWELL 


1539-1547]         THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  175 

and  awkward  as  well  as  dull  and  slow.  Henry  married 
her,  but  in  his  wrath  he  sent  Cromwell  to  the  block ;  and 
after  a  few  months  he  obtained  a  divorce  from  Anne  on 
the  ground  that,  as  he  had  married  her  against  his  will, 
he  had  not  given  his  full  consent.  He  had  two  more 
wives ;  one  he  beheaded  and  one  survived  him. 

166.  Succession  to  the  throne.  Henry  was  not  yet 
at  rest  about  the  succession  to  the  throne.  There  were 
the  three  children,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  and  Edward.  Ed- 
ward was  not  a  strong  child,  and  the  king  was  afraid  that 
he  would  not  live.  There  must  be  a  plan  made  for  the 
kingdom  if  he  died,  for  Henry  could  not  bear  the  thought 
that  the  crown  should  pass  from  his  family,  and  he  was 
determined  that  even  if  no  woman  had  ever  ruled  Eng- 
land, a  woman  should  rule  if  Edward  did  not  live.  His 
obedient  Parliament  had  already  passed  acts  saying  that 
Mary  was  the  heir  or  that  Elizabeth  was  the  heir  or  that 
neither  of  them  was  the  heir,  and  finally  that  they  all  had 
just  claim,  and  now  it  was  ready  to  do  whatever  this 
arbitrary  sovereign  demanded.  Henry  set  to  work  to 
arrange  the  order  of  succession. 

One  party  in  the  kingdom  believed  that  the  marriage 
with  Katharine  of  Aragon  had  been  unlawful,  and  that, 
therefore,  her  daughter  Mary  could  not  rule.  Henry's  "r 
Another  believed  that  the  marriage  with  Anne  "^*"- 
Boleyn  had  been  unlawful,  and  that  therefore  her  daugh- 
ter Elizabeth  could  not  rule.  No  one  could  object  to 
Edward's  succession,  as  both  Katharine  and  Anne  had 
died'  before  his  mother  married  Henry ;  moreover,  he 
was  a  boy ;  so  Henry  made  what  seems  the  wisest  will 
that  he  could  have  made  under  the  circumstances,  and 
decreed  that,  first,  Edward  should  rule,  then  Mary,  and 
then  Elizabeth.  Parliament  agreed  to  do  just  what  he 
wished,  and  promised  to  follow  this  order.      Whether 


176  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1509-1553 

anything  better  could  have  been  done  is  a  question,  but 
many  a  man  trembled  as  he  thought  of  what  the  future 
might  bring. 

SUMMARY 

Henry  VIII.  came  to  the  throne  with  the  advantage  of  an 
unquestioned  claim  and  a  full  treasury.  The  Welsh  were 
content,  and  the  Scotch  were  subdued.  By  a  wise  foreign 
policy,  Henry  avoided  trouble  with  France  and  Germany.  He 
ruled  the  land  with  an  absolutism  by  which,  indeed,  quiet 
and  order  v/ere  secured,  though  the  power  of  Parliament  was 
greatly  lessened.  His  interest  in  the  new  learning  strength- 
ened the  influence  of  the  Renaissance  in  England.  His  de- 
termination not  to  submit  to  the  pope's  refusal  to  declare 
his  first  marriage  unlawful  resulted  in  the  establishing  of  a 
national  church.  In  this  reign  the  sufferings  of  the  poor  were 
multiplied  by  the  suppression  of  the  monasteries,  together  with 
the  spread  of  the  custom  of  sheep-raising  and  "inclosing." 
Beggary  and  robbery  increased  in  spite  of  severe  penalties. 
By  Henry's  will,  to  which  Parliament  agreed,  the  crown  was 
to  descend  to  Edward,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth,  in  the  order 
given. 

21.  Edward  VI.  1547-1553 
156.  A  lovable  king.  A  boy  of  only  nine  years 
was  now  at  the  head  of  the  English  nation,  and  a  great 
change  it  must  have  been  to  have  this  gentle,  lovable, 
thoughtful  child  for  a  ruler  instead  of  his  selfish,  arbi- 
trary father.  His  tutors  were  never  weary  of  writing 
about  his  goodness  and  his  learning,  and  if  half  that  they 
said  was  true,  he  really  must  have  been  quite  a  wonder. 
They  claimed  that  when  he  was  thirteen  he  understood 
French,  English,  and  Latin  thoroughly,  and  had  studied 
seven  languages  to  some  extent,  to  say  nothing  of  hav- 
ing learned  more  or  less  of  logic,  music,  natural  philo- 
sophy, and  many  matters  of  state. 


1547] 


THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS 


177 


When  he  went  to  church  the  sermons  were  preached 
expressly  for  him.  They  were  very  long,  but  if  they 
were  all  as  interesting  as  Bishop  Latimer's,  he  did  not 
deserve  a  very  great  amount  of  praise  for  listening  to 
them  attentively.  In  one  sermon,  preached  to  him  when 
he  was  eleven  years  old,  Latimer  told  about  his  own 
early  life,  how  com- 
fortably his  father 
lived  on  a  small 
farm,  and  how 
many  cows  and 
sheep  he  kept.  No 
wonder  that  the 
little  king  listened 
when  the  bishop 
went  on  to  say  that 
four  or  five  times  as 
much  rent  was  now 
demanded  for  the 
same  farm,  so  that 
the  present  holder 
had  a  hard  strug- 
gle to  keep  from 
starving.     Edward 

must  have  made  a  great  many  plans  about  what  he 
would  do  when  he  was  eighteen,  but  until  then  he  had 
no  power  whatever,  except  that  councillors  would  natu- 
rally hesitate  to  do  anything  for  which  they  thought  that 
the  king  would  blame  them  when  he  was  grown  up. 

167.  Changes  in  the  church.  Edward's  mother's 
brother,  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  was  made  Protector. 
In  Henry's  reign  a  new  translation  of  the  Bible  had  been 
made  by  Tyndale  and  widely  circulated,  and  people  were 
thinking  much  about  religious  matters.     They  were  per- 


EDWARD   VI. 


1/8  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1547-1551 

haps  more  ready  for  changes  than  they  had  been  in 
Henry's  time,  but  the  duke  went  on  with  his  innovations 
far  more  rapidly  than  people  wished  to  follow  him.  For 
Removal  of  ^ne  thing,  there  were  to  be  no  images,  crosses, 
images,  etc.  qj.  pictures  in  the  churches,  and  the  service  was 
to  be  in  English.  To  people  who  had  seen  hanging  on 
the  walls  of  the  church  scenes  in  the  life  of  Christ  and 
in  the  lives  of  the  saints,  and  had  loved  them  ever  since 
they  were  children,  it  seemed  a  very  wicked  thing  to  pull 
them  down,  and  to  break  beautiful  stained  glass  windows 
that  represented  stories  in  the  Bible;  while  men  and 
women  who  had  heard  the  church  service  in  Latin  all 
their  lives  felt  as  if  it  was  undignified  and  irreverent  to 
repeat  if  in  every-day  English. 

The  Duke  of  Somerset  and  the  other  Protestants 
believed  that  what  they  were  doing  was  right,  and  the 
Roman  Catholics  believed  that  all  these  changes  were 
wrong ;  but  the  duke  was  in  power,  and  the  changes  were 
made.  He  had  Archbishop  Cranmer  and  others  compile 
Compulsory  ^^^  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  which  is  now 
use  of  the  known  as  the  Prayer  Book  of  Edward  VI.  It 
Common  was  taken  in  large  part  from  the  old  Roman 
Prayer.  Catholic  service,  but  it  was  in  English,  and  the 
sound  of  the  words  was  strange  and  unfamiliar,  so  that 
many  people  would  have  disliked  it  even  if  it  had  been 
an  exact  translation.  Instead  of  waiting  a  while  and 
introducing  the  book  gradually,  the  duke  declared  that 
it  must  be  used  at  once  in  all  the  churches  ;  and  when 
revolts  came,  as  they  did  come  in  great  numbers,  he  put 
them  down  with  the  utmost  severity. 

168.  The  Duke  of  Northumberland  becomes  Pro- 
tector. There  were  other  reasons  for  discontent,  for  the 
work  of  inclosing  the  common  pasture  land  was  still  go- 
ing on,  and  every  inclosure  drove  many  people  from  their 


I5SI-I553]         THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS 


179 


homes.  The  Duke  of  Somerset  had  so  much  sympathy 
with  these  poor  people  that  he  proposed  to  forbid  so 
much  "inclosing."  This  made  the  rich  land-owners  his 
enemies  ;  and  even  the  poor  looked  upon  him  as  an 
enemy  when,  with  all  his  thoughtfulness  for  them,  he 
felt  obliged  to  suppress  their  revolts  with  a  strong  hand. 


EDWARD  VI.  AND   COUNCIL 


The  result  was  that  he  was  finally  imprisoned  and  exe- 
cuted, and  the  Duke  of  Northumberland  became  Protec- 
tor in  his  place.  This  duke  had  a  crafty  scheme  in  his 
.mind  which  was  to  come  out  a  little  later. 

169.  The  Blue-Coat  School.  The  government  was 
still  taking  possession  of  church  property,  but  here  the 
boy  king  had  a  word  to  say.  He  was  interested  in  other 
boys,  and  wished  that  the  poorest  one  in  his  kingdom 
might  have  a  chance  to  be  educated.  He  had  no  author- 
ity, but  it  is  thought  that  by  his  influence   part  of  the 


I  So 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1551-1553 


property  that  had  belonged  to  the  church  was  devoted 
to  schools  for  boys.     The  most  famous  of  these  schools 

he  founded  in  London. 
It  is  named  Christ's 
Hospital,  but  it  is  of- 
tener  called  the  Blue- 
Coat  School,  from  the 
peculiar  clothes  that 
the  boys  wear.  The 
coat  is  blue  with  a 
long  skirt  coming  down 
almost  to  the  ground. 
The  belt  is  red,  the  , 
stockings  yellow,  and 
the  shoes  have  large 
buckles.  The  boys 
wear  no  hats  summer 
LADY  JANE  GREY  ^r  wiutcr.      This  was 

the  ordinary  dress  of  a 
schoolboy  in  Edward's  day,  and  its  style  has  never  been 
changed. 

160.  Northumberland's  plan.  The  young  king  was 
to  be  in  full  possession  of  his  kingdom  when  he  was 
eighteen,  but  it  was  soon  admitted  that  there  was  little 
probability  of  his  living  to  that  age.  Here  was  North- 
umberland's opportunity.  By  the  will  of  Henry  VHI., 
if  all  three  of  his  children  died  without  leaving  any  chil- 
dren, the  crown  was  to  go  to  the  descendants  of  his  . 
younger  sister  Mary,  who  had  married  Charles  Brandon. 
One  of  Mary's  granddaughters  was  a  gentle,  lovable  girl 
named  Jane  Grey,  and  Northumberland  had  brought 
it  about  that  she  should  marry  his  son.  Lord  Guilford 
Dudley,  for  what  he  planned  was  to  make  Lady  Jane 
queen  of  England. 


1553]  THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  l8l 

He  persuaded  Edward  that  he,  as  king,  had  as  much 
right  to  make  a  will  as  his  father  had  had.  Then  he  pic- 
tured what  terrible  consequences  there  would  Edward's 
be  if  his  sister  Mary  were  allowed  to  become  ■^*^^- 
queen,  for  she  was  a  strong  Roman  Catholic,  and  all  that 
the  Protestants  had  done  would  be  undone.  Edward 
was  only  sixteen,  and  he  was  weak  and  ill.  He  would 
naturally  believe  what  his  guardian  told  him,  and  the 
result  was  that  he  did  sign  a  will,  setting  aside  not  only 
Mary  but  also  Elizabeth,  and  giving  the  crown  to  his 
second  cousin,  Lady  Jane.     Soon  after  this  he  died. 

Lady  Jane  was  a  gentle  young  girl  of  seventeen.  She 
had  been  brought  up  very  strictly,  and  hardly  j^^dy  Jane 
knew  what  it  was  to  have  a  will  of  her  own.  It  ^"y- 
was  still  the  custom  to  treat  children  harshly,  and  her 
parents  would  have  thought  that  they  were  not  training 
her  properly  if  they  had  treated  her  in  any  other  fashion. 
The  only  one  who .  seems  to  have  been  gentle  and  kind 
to  her  was  her  tutor,  "  Master  Aylmer,"  and  she  used  to 
long  for  the  hours  to  come  that  she  was  to  spend  with 
him,  and  could  be  free  from  the  pinches  and  blows  that 
she  continually  received  from  her  parents.  She  was  so 
happy  with  "  Master  Aylmer  "  that  she  became  a  most 
excellent  scholar.  She  had  studied  Latin,  Greek,  Italian, 
and  French,  and  had  begun  Hebrew.  She  did  not  wish 
to  be  married,  but  when  her  parents  commanded  her  to 
marry  Lord  Guilford  Dudley,  she  obeyed. 

Just  before  Edward's  death,  Northumberland  told  her 
that  she  was  to  be  queen  of    England.     She  The 
wept  and  pleaded  to  be  free,  but  to  no  avail.   JZJl^®" 
Northumberland  said   that    she   had  the   best  Queen, 
right  to  the  throne,  that  Edward  had  willed  it  to  her, 
and  that  she  alone  could  save  the  land  from  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  Roman  Catholics.     At  last  she  was 


l82  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [i547-i553 

persuaded  that  it  must  be  as  he  had  said.  She  yielded, 
and  set  to  work  to  be  a  queen  as  conscientiously  as  she 
had  studied  her  lessons. 

When  Edward  died,  Northumberland  tried  to  keep  the 
news  secret  until  he  could  get  possession  of  Mary  and 
shut  her  up  in  the  Tower ;  but  she  too  had  friends  on 
the  watch.  They  told  her  at  once  of  the  king's  death, 
and  she  took  refuge  in  a  strong  castle  so  near  the  sea 
that  she  could  escape  to  the  emperor  of  Germany  if 
there  was  need  of  flight.  The  council  proclaimed  Lady 
Jane  queen.  For  twelve  days  she  was  on  the  throne, 
and  that  is  why  she  is  sometimes  called  the  "  Twelve- 
days'  Queen." 

161.  Mary  becomes  queen.  Mary  had  no  idea  of  giv- 
ing up  her  kingdom.  She  sent  her  claim  to  the  council, 
but  they  told  her  to  "  submit  and  behave  as  a  good  sub- 
ject." Instead  of  submitting,  however,  she  collected 
around  her  the  strongest  members  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic nobility,  and  also  many  Protestants,  for  all  were 
weary  of  uncertainties,  and  were  disgusted  with  the 
transparent  selfishness  of  Northumberland.  She  was 
accepted  as  queen  in  one  place  after  another.  The  fleet 
stood  firmly  by  her ;  the  army  refused  to  fight  against 
her  ;  and  soon  the  council,  with  Northumberland  at  their 
head,  proclaimed  her  as  queen.  Northumberland's  sud- 
den change  of  allegiance  was  of  no  avail,  for  he  was  put 
to  death,  and  Lady  Jane  and  her  husband  were  sent  to 
the  Tower. 

SUMMARY 

The  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  compiled,  and  the  Pro- 
testant faith  established.  The  Duke  of  Somerset,  who  was 
Protector,  aroused  the  enemity  of  both  rich  and  poor,  and  was 
executed.     The  Duke  of  Northumberland,  who  succeeded  to 


I547-I553]         THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  183 

the  office,  persuaded  Edward  to  will  the  crown  to  Lady  Jane 
Grey,  wife  of  Northumberland's  son.  For  twelve  days  she 
reigned,  then  Mary  became  queen.  An  important  event  of 
this  reign  is  the  founding  of  many  free  Protestant  schools  for 
boys. 

22.  Mary.     15 53-1 5 58 

162.  Coronation  of  Mary.  In  a  few  weeks  after  the 
imprisonment  of  the 
"Twelve-days' 
Queen,"  Mary  was 
crowned.  She  wore 
a  rich  blue  velvet 
gown  trimmed  with 
ermine.  On  her 
head  was  a  hoop  of 
gold  loaded  with  pre- 
cious stones,  and 
from  it  hung  over 
her  shoulders  a  veil  of 
tissue  of  gold  spark- 
ling with  gems.  It 
was  all  very  brilliant, 
but    the    crown    was 

so    heavy    that    she  q^een  mary  tudor,  or  mary  i. 

was   often   obliged 

to  hold  up  her  head  with  both  hands. 

163.  Mary's  hard  life.  Mary  had  had  a  hard  life. 
Until  she  was  almost  grown  up,  she  was  treated  with  all 
the  respect  that  could  be  shown  to  the  daughter  of  a 
powerful  king.  Then,  after  Henry's  divorce,  everything 
was  suddenly  changed.  Her  own  mother  was  sent  away, 
and  the  honors  that  had  been  showered  upon  Mary  were 
given  to  Anne  Boleyn's  daughter,  the  baby  Elizabeth. 


l84  ENGLAND'S   STORY  '  [1553 

164.  Mary's  religion.  Mary  was  so  firm  a  Roman 
Catholic  that  she  even  resisted  her  royal  little  brother 
when  he  bade  her  no  longer  hear  mass.  King  though  he 
was,  she  wrote  him  to  the  effect  that  his  letter  must  have 
come  from  his  councillors  rather  than  himself,  for  he 
was  hardly  old  enough  to  be  a  judge  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion. Her  unhappiness  had  been  so  associated  with  the 
changes  in  the  church  that  she  could  hardly  help  feeling 
a  great  bitterness  toward  the  Protestant  innovations  and 
those  who  had  brought  them  about,  and  she  was  as  deter- 
mined to  restore  the  old  ways  as  her  father  had  been 
to  alter  them.  Parliament  was  almost  as  obedient  as  it 
had  been  to  Henry  VHI.  It  repealed  the  laws  against 
the  power  of  the  pope  in  England,  and  made,  or  rather 
revived,  the  law  for  the  burning  of  those  whose  belief 
differed  from  that  of  the  sovereign.  On  one  point,  how- 
ever. Parliament  was  unyielding  ;  it  would  not  restore  to 
the  church  the  land  that  had  been  taken  from  the  monas- 
teries. Indeed,  such  a  restoration  could  hardly  have 
been  expected,  for  the  greater  part  of  this  land  had  been 
divided  among  various  noble  families,  and  members  of 
most  of  them  had  seats  in  the  House  of  Lords'. 

165.  Mary's  marriage.  No  sooner  was  Mary  on  the 
throne  than  the  whole  country  was  eager  for  her  mar- 
riage. Through  the  troublous  times  of  this  age,  the  first 
thing  in  the  minds  of  the  people  as  a  whole  seems  to 
have  been  the  wish  for  a  firm,  just  control,  and  an  un- 
disputed succession  to  the  throne;  and  they  thought 
that  if  Mary  had  children,  the  crown  would  descend 
peacefully  to  them,  and  the  country  would  be  at  rest. 
There  were  various  suitors  for  her  hand,  and  England 
hoped  that  she  would  marry  an  Englishman.  Unfortu- 
nately, Mary  greatly  admired  a  portrait  that  she  had 
seen  of  her  cousin  Philip,  a  Spanish  prince ;  and  although 


1554] 


THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS 


185 


she  had  never  met  the  young  man,  she  was  determined 
to  marry  him.  Parliament  pleaded  as  earnestly  as  it 
dared,  but  Mary  replied  that  in  so  important  a  matter 
she  should  look  to  God  and  not  to  Parliament  for  advice. 

There  were  two  reasons  why  the  English  would  have 
preferred  almost  any  one  else  rather  than  Philip  of  Spain. 
One  was  that  in  Spain  the  opposition  to  the  uj^g^gij 
changes  in  the  church  was  strongest,  and  peo-  dislike  oi 
pie   who    believed    in    the    newer   ways   were 
brought  before  a  kind  of  tribunal  called  the  Inquisition. 
Then,  to  make  them  give  up  their  belief,  they  were  tor- 
tured or  burned 
alive.    Large  num- 
bers had  suffered. 
Philip  was  known 
to  approve  of  this 
method    of    mak- 
ing people  recant, 
and  few  English- 
men    wished     to 
see  the  Inquisition 
flourish    in    their 
country. 

The  other  rea- 
son was  that  Philip 
would  probably  be 
king  of  Spain  be- 
fore many  years 
had  passed ;  and  as 
Spain  was  a  rich,  powerful  country,  England  was  afraid 
of  becoming  nothing  but  an  unimportant  province  of  a 
great  kingdom.  Mary  was  firm,  but  the  general  feeling 
was  so  against  this  marriage  that  the  street-boys  of  Lon- 
don  pelted  with   snowballs   the   Spanish   ambassador's 


PHILIP    II. 


1 86 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1555-1556 


"  harbingers,"  or  officers  who  went  in  advance  to  secure 
proper  accommodations  for  the  noble  and  his  followers. 
A  game  of  "  pnglish  and  Spaniards  "  was  invented,  in 
which  there  was  a  pretence  of  hanging  the  boy  that  acted 
as  the  Spanish  prince.  It  was  not  all  boys'  play,  for 
there  was  a  serious  revolt,  and  Mary  felt  so  afraid  that 
there  would  be  another,  and  that  the  people  would  want 
either  Elizabeth  or  Lady  Jane  for  queen,  that  she  signed 
the  death  warrant  of  Lady  Jane  and  Lord  Dudley,  and 
shut  Elizabeth  up  in  the  Tower. 

166.  Persecutions.  The  marriage  took  place.  Al- 
most at  once  the  old  laws  for  burning  heretics  were 
revived  and  enforced.  The  first  man  to  suffer  was  John 
Rogers,  whose  picture  is  in  the  "  New  England  Primer," 
the  famous  little  book  that  was  studied  by  all  the  Puritan 
children  of  New  England.     Then  came  Bishop  Latimer, 

who  used  to  preach  be- 
fore the  boy  king,  Ed- 
ward VI. ;  then  Hoop- 
er,   Ridley,    Cranmer, 
and  many  others  ;  the 
number  is  estimated  at 
from   two  hundred  to 
four  hundred.    It  is  be- 
cause   so    many   were 
put    to   death   in   this 
short  reign  of  five  years 
that  the  queen  is  some- 
times called    "Bloody 
Mary  ; "  but  we  might 
ask  whether  it  would  not  be  more  fairly  "Bloody  Philip." 
If  Mary  had  been  just  as  firm  in  her  religious  creed  as 
she  was,  but  had  also  been  gentle  and  kind,  and  char- 
itable to  the  beliefs  of  others,  one  can  hardly  say  what 


BURNING   OF  JOHN    ROGERS 

From  the  New  England  Primer 


'554-1558]  THE   TUDOR  SOVEREIGNS  187 

the  effect  of  her  reign  might  have  been  upon  England, 
but  she  was  bitter  and  cruel ;  and  when  people  saw 
burned  at  the  stake  one  clergyman  after  another,  men  of 
holy  lives  and  kindly  deeds  ;  when  they  remembered  that 
while  there  had  been  burnings  in  the  previous  reigns, 
the  number  of  the  sufferers  had  been  small  indeed,  com- 
pared with  this  great  company,  —  then,  even  though  they 
might  yield  for  the  time,  there  could  be  in  the  end  no 
real  gain  to  the  church  that  Mary  loved. 

167.  Philip's  desertion.  One  cannot  help  feeling  a 
profound  pity  for  Queen  Mary.  She  was  sincere,  she 
was  earnest,  and  she  did  without  a  shade  of  hesitancy 
that  which  she  believed  to  be  right.  After  the  days  of 
her  early  girlhood,  she  can  hardly  have  had  many  happy 
hours.  She  had  withstood  her  whole  nation  for  the  love 
of  Philip,  and  he  cared  nothing  whatever  for  her.  He 
was  ten  years  younger  than  she,  and  she  was  so  frail  that 
she  knew  her  life  would  not  be  a  long  one  ;  but,  although 
she  did  everything  in  her  power  to  persuade  the  English 
people  to  promise  that  he  should  be  their  next  sovereign, 
they  refused.  It  was  only  in  the  hope  of  becoming  king 
of  England  that  Philip  had  agreed  to  marry  Mary,  and 
after  they  had  been  married  a  few  months,  he  discovered 
that  the  air  of  the  land  did  not  agree  with  him,  and  he 
returned  to  Spain.  Only  once  did  he  come  to  visit  her, 
and  then  for  but  a  short  stay. 

168.  England  loses  Calais.  1558.  Spain  had  been 
fighting  with  France,  and  though  England  was  not  in- 
volved in  the  quarrel,  Mary  had  entered  into  the  war  to 
please  her  husband.  The  one  possession  that  England 
still  held  in  France  was  Calais,  which  had  once  been 
strongly  fortified  ;  but  in  the  previous  reigns  so  much 
money  had  been  wasted  that  the  defences  of  the  forts 
had   not   been   kept  in   order.      France   now   attacked 


l88  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [i554-i558 

Calais  and  won.     England  no  longer  owned  an  inch  of 
ground  in  the  kingdom  that  lay  across  the  channel. 

Not  a  word  of  regret  had  ]\Jary  for  all  the  lives  that 
had  been  taken  during  her  short  reign ;  but  for  the  loss 
of  Calais  she  grieved  deeply  during  the  few  weeks  that 
she  lived  after  its  capture.  "When  I  die,"  she  said, 
"Calais  will  be  found  written  on  my  heart." 

SUMMARY 

The  reign  of  Mary  was  marked  by  persecutions  so  bitter  as 
to  prepare  the  way  for  a  religious  reaction  and  the  joyful 
reception  of  a  Protestant  queen.  Mary's  marriage  to  Philip 
of  Spain  strengthened  Spain's  hope  of  future  dominion  in 
England  ;  and  the  loss  of  Calais  left  England  without  an  inch 
of  ground  in  the  country  where  her  power  had  formerly  been 
so  great. 

23.  Elizabeth,     i 558-1603 

169.  Elizabeth's  early  life.  Elizabeth's  life  had  been 
quite  different  from  that  of  her  sister  Mary.  Elizabeth 
was  too  young  at  her  mother's  death  to  remember  the 
execution,  while  Mary  could  never  forget  the  long  years 
during  which  her  mother  was  made  so  unhappy.  While 
Mary  reigned,  she  was  always  afraid  that  there  would  be 
plots  to  put  Elizabeth  in  her  place,  and  she  had  had 
every  motion  of  her  sister's  closely  watched.  Eliza- 
beth had  passed  years  in  danger,  but  Mary  had  passed 
years  in  unhappiness.  .  Mary  could  hardly  help  becoming 
embittered,  while  Elizabeth  had  only  grown  wary  and 
cautious.  She  had  been  released  from  imprisonment,  but 
she  was  wise  enough  to  see  that  the  only  way  for  her  to 
save  her  life,  or  at  any  rate  to  keep  out  of  the  Tower, 
was  to  express  no  opinions  and  to  have  as  little   said 


I558J  THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  189 

about  herself  as  possible.  The  best  thing  for  her  to  do 
was  to  live  quietly  in  the  country,  and  that  was  what 
she  had  done.     She  was   fond  of   study,  and  much  of 


QUEEN    ELIZABETH 


the  last  few  years  before  she  came  to  the  throne  she  had 
spent  in  reading  Latin  and  Greek. 

170.  Protestant  or  Roman  Catholic?    When  Mary 
died  in  1558  and  Elizabeth  was  proclaimed  queen,  it  is 


IQO  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1558 

probable  that  hardly  one  person  in  the  land  knew  what 
her  thoughts  were  on  the  great  questions  of  the  day, 
or  was  really  sure  whether  she  was  a  Roman  Catholic 
or  a  Protestant.  Philip,  who  had  now  become  king  of 
Spain,  had  not  given  up  all  hope  of  wearing  the  crown 
of  England,  and  within  one  month  he  suggested  that 
she  should  announce  herself  a  Roman  Catholic  and  take 
him  for  a  husband.  Even  then  Elizabeth  did  not  express 
herself  at  all  definitely,  but  only  received  his  proposal 
with  the  utmost  courtesy,  though  she  postponed  g*^^ing 
him  an  answer,  saying  that  she  must  wait  to  ask  the 
advice  of  her  Parliament.  She  had  set  free  all  who  were 
in  prison  because  of  their  opinions  on  religious  matters, 
but  it  was  not  at  all  uncommon  to  perform  such  deeds  of 
generosity  on  coming  to  the  throne,  and  no  one  could 
guess  from  this  act  what  she  really  thought.  Her  acces- 
sion occurred  in  November,  and  every  one  about  the 
queen  watched  her  eagerly.  She  named  the  men  for  her 
council,  but  that  did  not  solve  the  question  ;  for  while  she 
chose  some  who  were  Protestants,  she  retained  in  office 
many  Roman  Catholics  whom  her  sister  had  selected. 
She  was  quite  accustomed  to  being  watched,  and  she 
gave  no  hint  on  which  side  she  should  stand.  All  waited 
for  Christmas.  If  she  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  she  would 
surely  hear  mass  on  that  day.  To  the  last  moment  she 
concealed  her  thoughts,  for  she  even  remained  in  the 
chapel  for  a  while,  listening  to  the  service ;  but  when 
the  mass  was  to  be  offered,  she  rose  and  left  the  room. 
She  had  made  her  choice,  and  in  two  days  she  issued 
a  proclamation  that  made  it  even  more  clear  that  she 
would  rule  as  a  Protestant  queen. 

171.  The  coronation.  While  Philip  was  waiting, 
patiently  or  impatiently,  for  his  answer,  the  time  set  for 
the  coronation  arrived,  a  day  chosen  by  the  royal  astrol- 


1558] 


THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS 


191 


oger.  Elizabeth  knew  something  of  the  history  of  her 
throne,  and  she  had  decided  that  to  succeed,  she  might 
rule  without  the  favor  of  the  church,  and  without  the 
support  of  the  nobles,  but  she  must  have  the  good  will  of 
the  masses  of  the  people.  She  showed  this  decision 
even  while  being  carried  in  state  through  London  at  her 
coronation,   for  when  addresses  were  made  to  her,  she 


QUEEN    ELIZABETH    CARRIED   IN   STATE 


would  have  her  chair  stopped  in  some  place  where  she 
could  hear  distinctly,  and  if  she  did  not  understand,  she 
would  ask  to  have  the  words  repeated.  If  she  saw  that 
the  humblest  citizen  wished  to  speak  to  her  or  to  give  her 
a  handful  of  flowers,  she  waited  with  as  much  apparent 
interest  as  when  the  city  gave  her  one  thousand  marks 
in  gold. 

172.  Elizabeth's    difficulties.      There    is    no   doubt 
that  the  people  were  rejoiced  to  have  Elizabeth  for  their 


192  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1558 

queen,  but  it  was  not  all  rejoicing  and  addresses  of  wel- 
come and  gifts  of  flowers  and  gold ;  there  were  many 
difficulties  to  meet.  Perhaps  the  hardest  of  all  was  the 
fact  that  there  were  two  prominent  religious  parties,  and 
she  must  be  friendly  to  both.  Still,  if  she  showed  any 
Three  •  leaning  toward  the  Roman  Catholics,  the  Protes- 
reugious  tants  would  no  longer  stand  by  her ;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  if  she  carried  out  the  Protestant 
ideas  too  rapidly,  the  Roman  Catholics  might  rise  against 
her,  and  they  had  a  candidate  of  their  own  faith  with  a 
good  claim  to  the  throne.  To  make  matters  even  more 
complicated,  a  third  party  was  beginning  to  become  impor- 
tant, the  Puritans,  who  were  not  satisfied  to  have  Protes- 
tantism established.  They  wished  to  "purify"  the 
church,  they  said ;  and  this  meant  that  they  wished  to 
destroy  every  trace  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

There  was  danger  that  these  same  questions  would 
The  make  trouble  for  the  queen  abroad.     The  pope 

Eiizaieth^s  ^^'^^^  easily  rouse  opposition,  for  France  was 
marriage,  always  ready  to  strike  a  blow  at  England.  Eliz- 
abeth could  keep  on  good  terms  with  Spain  only  by  be- 
coming a  Roman  Catholic  and  marrying  Philip.  She  had 
said  to  Philip's  ambassador  that  she  must  consult  Par- 
liament, but  when  Parliament  very  meekly  begged  her  to 
marry,  she  replied  that  she  was  pleased  with  their  love 
and  care  for  her  welfare  and  that  of  the  kingdom,  and 
especially  with  the  manner  of  their  petition,  for  it  would 
have  been  a  great  presumption  in  them,  so  she  said,  to 
venture  to  direct  or  command  her  whom  they  were 
bound  to  obey.  She  would  not  give  them  the  least  hint 
whether  she  intended  to  marry  or  not.  She  could  hardly 
venture  to  marry  either  a  Protestant  or  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic, for  whichever  it  was,  there  would  have  been  great 
dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of  a  large  number  of  her  sub- 


1558]  THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  193 

jects.  She  put  off  Philip's  ambassador  as  long  as  she 
could,  until  he  declared  that  the  queen  "  was  possessed 
with  ten  thousand  devils."  This  was  her  manner  of  treat- 
ing one  suitor  after  another.  She  would  find  endless  ex- 
cuses for  delay  and  postponement.  This  was  partly 
policy  and  partly,  it  is  thought,  because  the  one  man 
whom  she  really  wished  to  marry  was  Robert  Dudley, 
Earl  of  Leicester,  son  of  that  Northumberland  who  had 
lost  his  head  for  trying  to  make  Lady  Jane  Grey  queen, 
and  there  were  several  reasons  why  it  would  not  do  to 
marry  him. 

The  proposed  marriages  were  hot  the  only  difficulties 
that  must  be  met.     England  had  no  real  friends,  and 

there  were  enemies    on    all    sides.       She   had  „    ^.^ 

Gonamon 

neither  well-trained  soldiers  nor  skilful  com-  of  the 
manders.  The  nobles  had  little  money  and  the  °°^ 
crown  was  poor.  To  decide  these  many  difficult  ques- 
tions, a  queen  needed  the  wisest  advisers,  and  here  shone 
out  Elizabeth's  greatest  talent ;  she  did  know  how  to 
choose  men.  She  at  once  made  Sir  William  Cecil  (Lord 
Burleigh)  her  secretary  and  chief  counsellor,  and  such  he 
remained  until  his  death,  a  few  years  before  the  close  of 
the  queen's  long  reign. 

173.  Manner  of  living.  In  the  manner  of  living 
there  was  a  great  contrast  between  the  homes  of  the 
rich  and  those  of  the  poor.  As  soon  as  men  did  not 
need  to  make  their  houses  strong  enough  to  serve  as 
forts,  they  began  to  make  them  handsomer  and  more 
comfortable.  There  were  many  beautiful  man-  Homos  of 
sions,  with  richly  embroidered  tapestries  and  *Ji®'ich. 
carved  furniture  and  dishes  of  gold  and  of  silver;  but 
these  houses  received  little  care.  The  floors  were 
covered  with  rushes,  and  as  the  old  ones  were  not  taken 
up,  but  new  ones  were  simply  laid  on  top  of  them,  they 


194 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1558 


were  decidedly  uncleanly  according  to  the  ideas  of  to-day. 
A  rich  noble  usually  owned  several  dwellings,  and  when 
one  had  become  so  dirty  that  it  was  unendurable,  even  to 
a  man  of  sixteenth  century  notions,  he  would  move  to 
another  house  and  let  this  one  "  sweeten,"  as  they  said. 


COSTUMES   OF   LADY   AND   COUNTRYWOMAN,   TIME   OF   ELIZABETH 
Showing  ruif  and  stomacher  worn  by  ladies  of  rank 

The  poor  people  in  the  country  lived  in  cottages  made 
of  sticks  and  clay.  There  was  no  real  chimney,  but  only 
Homes  oi  ^  ^^^^  ^°^  ^^^  smoke  to  go  out.  Even  among 
the  poor.  the  well-to-do,  such  articles  as  a  feather  bed,  a 
pair  of  tongs,  a  brass  dish,  or  a  pair  of  blankets  would  be 
handed  down  by  will ;  and  from  this  we  know  that  people 
looked  upon  these  things  as  being  of  great  value. 

The  dress  of  even  the  rich  cannot  have  been  very 
clean,  but  it  Was  certainly  exceedingly  gorgeous,  for  there 
was  damask,  cloth  of  silver,  cloth  of  gold,  and 
silk  and  velvet.  Money  was  worth  perhaps 
fifteen  times  as  much  as  now,  and  when  we  read  of  a 


Dress. 


154^1561]  THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  I95 

plain,  fine  woolen  gown  costing  four  dtjllars  a  yard,  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  these  brilliant  costumes  must  have  been 
very  expensive.  The  working  people  wore  much  poorer 
clothes,  rough  homespun,  and  coarse,  cheap  materials. 

The  poor  had  hard  lives.  Those  who  worked  on  farms 
had  to  begin  early  and  leave  off  late.  In  cities,  while 
there  were  no  factories,  there  were  guilds,  or 
associations,  that  made  laws  for  those  who 
worked  at  home.  There  was  a  guild  for  the  spinners, 
another  for  the  weavers,  another  for  the  gold-beaters,  and 
so  on.  Each  workman  must  belong  to  his  proper  guild, 
and  must  obey  its  laws  in  regard  to  his  hours  of  toil,  the 
quality  of  work  that  he  did,  and  the  price  at  which  he 
sold  it. 

174.  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots.  Both  the  Tudor  queens 
were  troubled  by  their  second  cousins.  Mary  had  been 
afraid  of  Lady  Jane  Grey,  and  now  Elizabeth  began  to 
feel  alarmed  because  of  another  cousin,  Mary,  Queen  of 
Scots.  When  Mary  was  a  little  girl  five  years  old,  Henry 
VIII.  had  tried  to  persuade  the  Scotch  to  marry  her  to 
his  nine-year-old  son  Edward.  He  even  went  to  war  to 
win  a  bride  for  his  son  by  force  of  arms.  The  Scotch 
were  badly  beaten,  but  they  still  declared  that  Mary 
should  not  marry  the  little  English  boy  ;  and  just  as  soon 
as  possible  they  betrothed  her  to  Francis,  Dauphin  of 
France,  and  sent  her  to  that  country  to  be  brought  up  as 
a  French  girl. 

Now  while  there  had  been  little  real  danger  of 
Queen  Mary's  being  driven  from  the  throne  by  Lady 
Jane  Grey,  there  was  great  danger  that  Mary,  Mary's 
Queen  of  Scots,  would  become  Mary,  Queen  of  Ji^Bngugij 
England.  A  large  party  in  England  had  never  throne, 
felt  that  the  marriage  of  Elizabeth's  mother  was  lawful 
or  that  Elizabeth  had  any  real  claim  to  the  throne.     If 


196 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[T565-1567 


they  were  right,  Mary  of  Scotland  ought  to  have  been 
queen  of  England  according  to  the  usual  rules  of  succes- 
sion;  though  according  to  the  will  of  Henry  VIII.  the 
next    heir   was   1   vounger   sister  of   Lady  Jane  Grey. 

Elizabeth  had  declared 
herself  a  Protestant, 
and  Mary  was  a  Roman 
Catholic,  so  there  was  a 
strong  party  in  Mary's 
favor.  While  Mary 
was  queen  of  France, 
Elizabeth  was  safe,  for 
no  Englishman  wished 
a  French  queen  to 
rule  his  country,  lest 
England  should  be- 
come only  a  prov- 
ince of  France ;  but 
when  Mary's  husband 
died  and  she  returned 
to  Scotland,  matters 
were  quite  different, 
for  there  was  no  objection  to  having  the  same  queen  for 
both  Scotland  and  England. 

After  a  few  years,  Mary  married  a  second  husband, 
Lord  Darnley,  an  English  cousin  of  hers,  who  was  a 
Mary's  Roman  Catholic.  Elizabeth  was  more  alarmed 
thirdmaj-*  than  ever,  but  she  kept  up  the  appearance  of 
riages.  friendship,  and  when  Mary's  son  James  was 
born,  she  agreed  to  act  as  godmother.  Mary  was  not  at 
all  happy  with  Lord  Darnley.  He  was  intensely  jealous 
of  her,  and  in  a  short  time  he  murdered  her  private  sec- 
retary, Rizzio,  almost  in  her  presence.  It  was  not  many 
months  before  Darnley,  too,  was  murdered.     Whether 


MARY    STUART 


1567-1568J  THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  I97 

the  charge  was  true  or  not,  many  people  believed  that 
the  crime  was  committed  by  the  Earl  of  Bothwell.  He 
had  just  obtained  a  divorce  from  his  wife,  and  when  soon 
after  the  murder  Mary  married  him,  it  was  hard  not  to 
think  that  she  had  connived  at  the  crime. 

176.  Mary  loses  her  throne.  The  Scotch  were 
thoroughly  aroused  and  took  up  arms.  .  Mary  called  out 
the  royal  forces,  but  they  refused  to  stand  by  her,  and 
she  was  taken  to  Edinburgh  as  a  prisoner.  Under  her 
window  was  displayed  a  banner  whereon  was  pictured  the 
death  of  Darnley,  and  beside  his  body  a  child  kneeling 
and  praying,  "Judge  and  avenge  my  cause,  O  Lord." 
She  was  soon  carried  to  Lochleven  Castle,  and  there  she 
signed  a  paper  resigning  the  throne  to  her  baby  son. 
The  baby,  only  one  year  old,  was  proclaimed  as  James 
VI.,  King  of  Scotland. 

Whether  Elizabeth  believed    Mary  deserving  of   im- 
prisonment  and   possible   execution  or   not,    her  proud 
Tudor  blood  would  not  endure  such  insolence  uy^abeth 
as  the  calling  of  a  queen  to  account  by  her  sub-  iavors 
jects.     The  more  her  counsellors  tried  to  calm 
her,  the  more  she  raged,  and  declared  that  Mary's  crown 
should  be  restored.     Severe  penalties  against  the  Roman 
Catholics  had  been  decreed  in  Scotland,  but  at  Eliza- 
beth's encouragement,  Mary's   friends  took    heart   and 
planned  her  escape. 

The  only  time  when  the  castle  was  not  guarded  was 
during  the  supper  hour,  and  then  the  great  key  of  the 
gate  was  laid  before  the  governor  of  the  castle.  Mary's 
A  fearless  young  page  who  served  the  governor  escape, 
at  his  meals  held  a  napkin  in  his  hand  when  setting  down 
a  dish,  and  as  he  took  up  the  napkin,  he  took  also  the 
key.  Mary  was  ready.  She  led  by  the  hand  a  little 
maid  who  waited  on  her,  and   the  three   went   quietly 


198  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1568 

through  the  gate.  "The  lad  Willie"  locked  it  behind 
them,  and  they  slipped  into  the  little  boat  of  the  castle. 
No  sound  of  pursuit  was  heard  from  the  other  side  of  the 
wall.  Mary  waved  gently  a  white  veil  with  a  deep  red 
fringe.  No  answering  signal  was  made,  but  hidden  on 
the  opposite  shore  were  her  rejoicing  friends.  A  swift 
horse  was  waiting  to  carry  her  to  a  strong  castle,  and  in 
three  days  she  was  at  the  head  of  an  army.  There  was 
a  battle,  but  Mary  was  defeated.  She  galloped  away  at 
full  speed,  sixty  miles  the  first  day,  was  rowed  over  the 
Solway,  and  then  she  was  in  England,  in  the  country  of 
the  powerful  queen  who  had  given  her  so  good  reason  to 
expect  support  and  kindness. 

176.  A  hard  question  for  England.  Never  was  a 
kingdom  in  a  more  difficult  position.  This  was  not  a 
case  in  which  either  jealousy  of  the  next  heir  to  the 
throne  or  angry  sympathy  for  a  deposed  queen  could  hold 
sway.  It  was  a  matter  whose  settlement  required  the 
keenest  acumen  of  the  royal  council.  If  Mary  was  placed 
on  the  Scotch  throne  and  supported  by  England,  a  war 
with  Scotland  and  probably  with  France  would  follow. 
If  she  was  simply  returned  to  Scotland,  the  result  would 
be  that  she  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  opposing 
party,  and  would  probably  be  put  to  death.  This  exe- 
cution would  arouse  against  Elizabeth  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics of  both  countries.  To  keep  Mary  in  England  in 
freedom  would  be  to  offer  her  as  a  centre  for  whatever 
plot  might  be  formed  against  Elizabeth  ;  and  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  England  was  not  a  Protestant  country 
suppressing  a  handful  of  Roman  Catholics,  but  rather  a 
land  in  which  the  numbers  supporting  each  form  of  faith 
were  probably  so  nearly  equal  that  only  the  power  of 
the  crown  maintained  the  Protestant  ascendency.  The 
fourth  course  open  to  England  was  to  keep  Mary  in  an 


1568-1587]  THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  I99 

uncertain  position  with  the  attendance  of  a  guest  and  the 
limitations  of  a  prisoner.  This  was  exactly  the  inde- 
cisive decision  that  was  so  characteristic  of  Elizabeth ; 
and  yet,  while  it  is  easy  to  say  that  she  should  have 
defended  the  royal  cousin  who  had  sought  her  hos- 
pitality, it  is  hard,  indeed,  to  tell  what  would  have  been 
the  wisest  course  to  secure  the  peace  and  unity  of  Eng- 
land, which  must  be  the  first  aim  of  its  queen  and  its 
councillors.  There  is  proof  that  Lord  Cecil  considered 
the  question  long  and  thoughtfully.  Another  matter, 
too,  had  to  be  taken  into  account ;  against  Mary  still 
lay  the  accusation  that  she  had  either  plotted  for  the 
murder  of  her  husband  or  had  at  least  known  of  frhe 
scheme  and  had  been  willing  that  it  should  be  carried 
out. 

But  if  it  is  hard  to  suggest  a  better  plan,  it  is  at  least 
easy  to  see  that  this  one,  by  keeping  a  queen  as  a  prisoner 
in  a  land  to  which  she  had  fled  for  protection,  added  to 
the  friends  of  the  deposed  sovereign  all  who  sympathized 
with  the  beautiful,  fascinating,  imprisoned  young  woman. 
Plot  after  plot  was  formed  against  Elizabeth.  More  and 
more  watchful  became  those  on  whose  shoulders  rested 
the  burden  of  protecting  the  quiet  of  the  kingdom.  The 
society  of  the  Jesuits  sent  missionaries  to  England. 
Whether  their  aims  were  religious  or  revolutionary,  the 
country  was  too  angry  and  too  anxious  to  inquire.  They 
were  driven  from  the  kingdom,  imprisoned,  reduced  to 
poverty,  tortured,  executed.  Some  put  the  number  of 
those  that  died  at  thirty-five ;  others  at  two  hundred.^ 

177.  Execution  of  Mary.  1587.  Every  day  the 
need  of  vigilance  increased.  Plots  were  formed  not  only 
to  put  the  English  queen  from  the  throne,  but  to  take 
her  life.     Letters  were  produced  as  the  work  of  Mary's 

1  Lamed. 


200  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1587 

hand,  proving  her  close  connection  with  the  worst  of 
these  plots.  One  party  firmly  believed  that  the  letters 
were  hers  ;  the  other  said  that  they  had  been  altered  by 
the  secretary  of  Elizabeth.  Mary  was  arrested  and  tried 
for  treason.  She  declared  that  she  was  innocent,  but 
the  court  pronounced  her  guilty  of  plotting  against  the 
life  of  the  queen,  and  condemned  her  to  death.  She 
was  executed  at  Fotheringay  Castle  in  1587. 

When  the  deed  was  once  done,  Elizabeth  was  thor- 
oughly frightened,  and  although  she  had  signed  the  death- 
EiizaDeth's  warrant,  she  declared  that  she  never  meant  the 
alarm.  execution  to  take  place.  She  stormed  at  every 
one  that  had  approved  the  verdict,  imprisoned  her  secre- 
tary, and  inflicted  an  enormous  fine  upon  him  ;  and  she 
actually  wrote  James  of  Scotland  that  the  death  of  his 
mother  was  a  terrible  mistake. 

178.  Philip's  plans.  She  had  reason  to  be  afraid. 
The  powerful  Philip  of  Spain  had,  of  course,  favored 
having  a  Roman  Catholic  on  the  English  throne,  but  he 
had  not  dared  to  support  Mary  of  Scotland,  because  to 
make  her  queen  of  England  would  increase  the  power  of 
France  in  England,  and  if  both  these  countries  were 
against  him,  he  could  not  hope  to  maintain  his  rule  in 
Holland.  Now  that  Mary  was  dead,  Philip  set  about 
his  preparations  to  conquer  England  for  himself,  and 
bring  the  land  back  to  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

Night  and  day  the  Spanish  shipbuilders  worked.  A 
great  fleet  was  made  ready  at  Lisbon,  and  at  Cadiz  were 
Theinvin-  many  other  warships,  while  every  day  more 
Amada  is  ^.rms  and  provisions  were  stowed  away  for  the 
buut.  conquest.     The  Spanish  term  for  fleet  was  ar- 

maduy  and  the  Spaniards  were  so  sure  that  England 
could  not  resist  their  attack  that  they  called  their  squad- 
ron the  Invincible  Armada.      They  were  soon  ready  to 


ss?-] 


THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS 


201 


sail,  but  one  English  captain  obliged  them  to  delay  for  a 
whole  year. 

England   was   not  "Mistress   of   the   Seas"    by   any 
means,  but  she  had  many  brave  sailors  and  daring  com- 
manders.    One  of  the  greatest  of  these  was  Sir  Drake  in 
Francis  Drake,  who  had  sailed  around  the  world,   ^i"*^"- 
As  soon  as  Philip's  plan  was  known,  Drake  set  out  with 
four  ships  from  the  royal  navy  and  twenty-four  vessels 
that  had  been  furnished  by  the  Londoners,  and  sailed 
straight  for  the  harbor  of  Cadiz.     For  thirty-six  hours  he 
fought,  and  he  sank  one  after  another  of  the  mighty  war- 
ships, high  at  prow  and  stern,  loaded  with  heavy  arma- 
ment,   unwieldy    and 
clumsy.     The  English 
boats  were  small,  and 
the  English  sailors  had 
always    been   a   little 
afraid  of  these   great 
floating    castles ;    but 
now  Drake  had  found 
out     how     to     meet 
them.    The  Spaniards 
set  to  work  to  repair 
damages,  and  to  make 
ready  to  attack  Eng- 
land a  year  later,  while 
Drake  sent  word  back 
to  England  that  he  had 
"singed    the   Spanish 
king's  beard."     Then 

he  sailed  away  to  the  Azores.  Good  fortune  was  with 
him,  for  he  fell  in  with  a  richer  prize  than  had  ever  been 
captured  by  England  before,  — a  Portuguese  carack,  loaded 
with  all  sorts  of  valuable  articles  from  the  East  Indies. 


SIR   FRANCIS   DRAKE 


202  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1588 

179.  England  is  aroused.  Since  the  times  of  Wil- 
liam the  Conqueror,  there  had  been  no  maritime  attacks 
upon  England  that  had  caused  her  any  special  alarm, 
and  now  the  whole  country  was  aroused  by  this  new 
danger.  The  pope  had  a  second  time  excommunicated 
Elizabeth,  and  had  called  upon  all  true  Roman  Catholics 
to  join  Philip  in  fighting  for  the  faith.  Nevertheless, 
Englishmen,  both  Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants,  sup- 
ported the  queen,  and  men  whose  fathers  would  have 
burned  one  another  for  a  difference  in  creed  stood  side 
by  side  to  resist  the  attack  of  Spain.  A  Roman  Catholic 
named  Howard  was  made  admiral  of  the  fleet,  and  Drake 
was  vice-admiral.  Frobisher  and  Hawkins  served  as  cap- 
tains, and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  as  a  volunteer.  Rank  and 
family  went  for  nothing.  Every  man  was  ready  to  haul 
a  rope  or  fire  a  gun.  The  honor  lay  not  in  commanding 
a  vessel,  but  in  doing  one's  best  for  England. 

The  royal  navy  consisted  of  only  thirty  warships,  not 
one  of  them  so  large  as  the  smallest  of  the  Spanish  fleet. 
TheEngUsh  The  government  asked  London  for  fifteen  boats, 
^*^-  and  the  answer  came,  "  We  entreat  you  to  ac- 

cept from  us  thirty."  Every  little  seashore  village  sent 
out  its  ships.  Men  of  all  ranks  and  from  all  over  the 
land  hurried  to  join  the  forces  that  were  gathering  to- 
gether near  London.  Every  man  that  owned  a  sailing 
vessel  offered  its  services  and  his  own  to  help  defend  his 
country ;  and  piratical  attacks  were  so  common  in  those 
days  that  few  captains  of  merchant  vessels  had  not  had 
some  experience  in  resisting  an  enemy. 

180.  The  fight  with  the  Armada.  The  summer  of 
1588  came,  and  the  Spanish  vessels  set  sail.  Not  a  doubt 
of  success  was  in  the  minds  of  the  Spaniards.  Men, 
food,  and  ammunition  were  plenty,  and  they  had  the 
greatest  fleet  that  the  world  had  ever  seen.     They  had 


1588] 


THE   TUDOR  SOVEREIGNS 


203 


four  or  five  times  as  many  ships  of  war  as  the  Eng- 
lish. They  were  so  sure  of  victory  that  they  made  not 
the  least  effort  to  conceal  their  plans.  Slowly  came  the 
Armada  up  the  coast  into  the  English  Channel.  As  soon 
as  they  were  in  sight,  signal  fires  were  lighted  on  the 
hills,  and  the  qu^er  little  English  fleet  went  out  from 
Plymouth  harbor  to  meet  the  foe.  The  Spanish  fleet 
formed  in  a  wide   crescent,  seven  miles  across.     The 


SPANISH    ARMADA  ATTACKED   BY   THE   ENGLISH    FLEET 


English  vessels  were  not  strong  enough  to  come  to  a 
regular  fight,  but  they  were  so  light  and  quick,  and  the 
Spanish  were  so  slow  and  heavy,  that  the  encounter 
seemed,  as  was  said,  like  one  between  a  swarm  of  wasps 
and  a  bear. 

Now  came  in  play  the  lesson  that  Drake  had  learned 
in  the  harbor  of  Cadiz  one  year  before.  An  English 
boat  would  slip  up  under  the  very  guns  of  a  Spanish  gal- 
leon, fire  a  shot  or  two  and  flee  ;  and  before  the  Spanish 
guns  could  he  trained  upon  her,  she  would  be  far  away, 
firing  at  another  warship.  It  is  said  that  some  of  the 
English  vessels  went  the  whole  length  of  the  crescent, 


204  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1588 

firing  at  ship  after  ship.     The  Spanish  withdrew  toward 
Calais. 

Then  there  came  a  Sunday  when  every  soldier  in  the 

English  army  waiting  before  London  prayed  from  the 

bottom  of  his  heart  in  the  words  that  the  queen 

Flxe-ships. 

had  sent,  "Prosper  the  work,  O  Lord,  and 
speed  the  victory."  Soon  after  midnight  a  few  small 
vessels  left  the  English  fleet  and  were  slowly  towed  in 
the  direction  of  the  Spanish  ships.  There  were  no  men 
on  board.  What  could  it  mean .?  The  tow-boats  with- 
^drew,  and  the  vessels  drifted  on  with  the  tide,  even  into 
the  very  midst  of  the  Armada.  Was  there  danger  ? 
What  could  the  Spaniards  do  }  There  was  no  reason 
for  firing  at  an  empty  boat,  and  they  waited  —  not  long, 
however,  for  there  was  a  sudden  blaze  from  one  boat, 
another,  and  another.  There  was  a  din  of  explosions. 
Strange,  suffocating  vapors  filled  the  air.  Still  the  mys- 
terious  vessels  drifted  on,  and  wherever  they  went  there 
was  fire  and  ruin.  How  could  one  fight  an  empty  boat 
that  seemed  to  be  guided  by  invisible  fiends  ?  Many  Span- 
ish ships  were  burned,  sunk  by  collisions,  run  aground,  or 
entangled  in  one  another's  anchor  cables. 

They  could  not  turn  back,  for  the  saucy  little  English 
boats  were  between  them  and  Spain,  firing  at  least  four 
Retttrnof  times  as  fast  as  the  Spaniards  could  fire.  The 
theArmada.  ygj-y  winds  were  against  them.  Their  only  hope 
of  returning  to  their  own  land  was  by  going  around  Scot- 
land and  Ireland.  Terrible  storms  arose,  and  only  half 
of  the  Invincible  Armada  ever  sailed  into  a  Spanish  port. 

England  now  ruled  the  seas.  She  could  send  her 
ships  where  she  chose  and  trade  wherever  she  wished. 
No  fear  was  there  now  of  becoming  a  province  of  Spain. 
Before  Elizabeth's  time  there  had  been  great  victories 
and  great  men.  Under  Elizabeth,  England  itself  became 
great. 


1589-1603]         THE  TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  205 

181.  A  wonderful  literature.  More  glorious  than 
victories  on  land  or  sea  was  the  wonderful  literature  that 
had  been  growing  up  in  England.  It  seems  as  if  every 
event  that  had  come  before  this  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth 
century  had  had  a  share  in  preparing  the  way  for  the 
outburst  of  literary  ability  that  made  the  reign  of  Eliza- 
beth so  memorable.  The  Saxons  loved  the  land  and 
their  own  settled  homes.  Then  came  the  Danes  with 
their  fearlessness  on  the  sea  and  their  wild  enjoyment  of 
storms  and  of  danger.  When  a  poet  wrote  of  love  of 
home,  he  expressed  the  feelings  of  his  Saxon  ancestors  ; 
and  when  he  wrote  of  the  perils  of  the  wave  and  influence  of 
the  wreck,  and  his  love  of  the  sea  with  all  its^*^®^*"*- 
hazards,  he  was  for  the  time  one  of  the  bold  mariners 
who  seized  upon  England  for  their  abode.  By  and  by 
came  the  Conqueror,  and  by  1400  the  grace  and.  beauty 
and  refinement  of  the  French  language  had  softened  the 
rough  strength  of  the  early  English. 

Men  thought  for  themselves  more  and  more  on  all 
subjects,  and  this  strength  of  thought  showed  in  their 
writings.  The  nation  became  united,  and  the  idea  of 
one  strong  country  was  an  inspiration.  To  Elizabeth 
herself  there  was  on  the  part  of  thousands  a  devotion 
that  was  almost  idolatry.  The  victory  over  influence  oi 
the  Armada  gave  the  English  nation  a  mag-  the  present, 
nificent  sense  of  confidence.  A  great  widening  of 
ideas  came  with  the  discovery  and  exploration  of 
the  New  World.  Raleigh  had  sailed  to  Virginia ; 
Frobisher  had  visited  Labrador  and  Greenland  in  his 
search  for  a  northwest  passage  to  India.  Every  one  was 
eager  to  make  a  voyage,  and  it  is  no  wonder,  for  there 
were  marvellous  stories  of  a  fountain  in  Florida  whose 
waters  would  make  an  old  man  young  again,  of  silver 
mines  whose  richness  was  without  parallel,  and  of  rivers 


206  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1589-1603 

whose  waters  rolled  over  precious  stones.  No  one  knew 
what  miracle  might  come  next.  The  English  were  eagef 
and  excited,  and  their  imagination  was  roused  to  the 
highest  pitch.  In  most  ages  only  a  few  men  write  wellj 
but  in  those  days  many  wrote  so  excellently  that  Eliza- 
beth's time  is  called  the  "  Golden  Age  "  of  English  liter- 
ature. 

There  were  many  short  poems  and  many  plays.  The 
short  poems  written  before  Elizabeth's  reign  are  heavy 
and  rather  gloomy,  and  they  sound  as  if  they  were  hard 
Short  to  write.     The  religious  poems  had  not  been 

poems.  frank  and  natural,  because  in  the  sudden  changes 
of  the  national  creed,  people  had  been  afraid  to  tell  what 
they  really  believed,  lest  it  should  be  called  heresy ;  but 
nearly  all  the  poems  written  in  Elizabeth's  time 
are  light  and  merry  and  musical.  Among  them 
are  many  songs,  for  the  English,  even  from  the  earliest 
days,  had  liked  to  listen  to  music,  and  at  this  time  every- 
body sang.  A  servant  who  could  sing  well  had  no  trouble 
in  getting  a  good  position.  Moreover,  people  would  not 
sing  nonsense ;  they  would  have  real  poetry  for  their 
songs. 

One  of  the  most  famous  poems  of  the  day  was  a  long 
one  named  "  The  Faerie  Queene,"  by  Edmund  Spenser. 
He  is  sometimes  called  "the  poets'  poet,"  because  his 
verse  is  so  harmonious  that  it  sounds  musical  even  to 
one  who  does  not  understand  the  words.  The  poem  is 
a  sort  of  double  allegory,  for  the  heroine  represents  not 
only  goodness  and  beauty,  but  also  Queen  Elizabeth. 

Even  better  than  the  short  poems  were  the  plays.    The 

old  mystery  plays  went  on  far  into  Elizabeth's  reign, 

though  they  were  no  longer  acted  by  priests, 

^**  but  by  guilds,  or  companies  of  tradesmen. 
There  were  no  books  that  were  at  all  like  the  novels  of 


1589-1603J  THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS 


207 


our  time.  It  may  be  that  life  moved  so  rapidly  with  its 
discoveries  and  its  victories,  and  that  Englishmen  were 
so  eager  and  so  enthusiastic  that  they  could  not  be  satis- 
fied to  listen  to  a  story;  they  must  see  it  acted  out  before 
them.  People  of  rank  and  wealth  and  those  of  the  hum- 
blest fortunes  enjoyed  alike  the  plays  for  which  the  mys- 
teries had  helped  prepare  the  way.  As  the  age  went 
on,  the  characters  of  the  plays  became  more  and  more 
like  real  men  and  women. 
There  were  also  changes 
in  the  manner  of  writing. 
Before  this,  most  authors 
had  felt  that  the  lines  of 
a  play  must  rhyme,  but 
Marlowe  ridiculed  the  cus- 
tom and  wrote  his  plays  in 
the  unrhymed  verse  that 
Shakespeare  uses.  A  little 
later,  Ben  Jon  son  wrote  not 
only  many  plays,  but  also 
a  kind  of  drama  called 
a  masque.  The  masques 
had  hardly  any  plot,  but 
audiences  enjoyed  them  because  they  were  beautiful  and 
poetical,  and  because  they  had  elaborate  scenery,  while 
the  regular  plays  had  scarcely  any.  Many  authors  wrote 
plays  and  exceedingly  good  ones,  but  the  greatest  of  all 
these  writers  was  Shakespeare,  partly  because  shake- 
he  could  use  words  so  skilfully  that  no  one  speare. 
seems  able  to  improve  upon  his  way  of  expressing  a 
thought,  but  chiefly  because  he  knew  better  than  any 
one  else  just  how  different  persons  would  feel  and  act 
under  different  circumstances.  One  maker  of  plays  was 
almost  as  good  as  he  in  one  respect,  and  another  in 


WILLIAM   SHAKESPEARE 


208 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[i 589-1603 

some  other  respect,  but  Shakespeare  was  greatest  in  all 
respects. 

182.  Character  of  Elizabeth.  What  kind  of  woman 
was  Elizabeth,  in  whose  reign  these  wonderful  things 
came  to  pass  .?  She  was  well  educated,  witty,  fond  of 
handsome  clothes  and  gorgeous  pageants  of  all  sorts. 
She  thoroughly  enjoyed  travelling  about  the  country  in 


THE    GLOBE.    SHAKESPEARE'S    THEATRE 


State,  going  from  one  nobleman's  house  to  another  and 
seeing  all  the  amusing  entertainments  that  could  be  de- 
vised. Sh§  had  great  faults.  She  was  so  vain  that  no 
one  could  praise  her  as  much  as  she  thought  she  deserved. 
She  had  a  hot  temper,  and  when  she  was  angry  she 
would  beat  her  maids  of  honor  and  box  the  ears  of  her 
courtiers.  She  did  not  like  to  spend  money  any  better 
than  her  grandfather,  Henry  VII.,  and  when  her  brave 
sailors  were  driving  away  the  Armada,  it  was  a  great 


i6o3]  THE   TUDOR   SOVEREIGNS  209 

Struggle  to  persuade  her  to  spend  what  was  necessary. 
Admiral  Howard's  letters  are  full  of  requests  that  she 
will  supply  him  with  more  food  and  ammunition.  Before 
we  call  her  stingy,  however,  we  must  remember  that  she 
had  to  make  the  money  of  the  kingdom  go  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, and  that  at  any  rate  she  never  spent  lavishly  on 
her  own  pleasures.  Her  worst  fault  was  that  her  word 
could  not  be  trusted.  She  would  tell  a  lie  if  it  answered 
her  purpose,  and  when  it  was  found  out  she  always  had 
another  one  ready. 

On  the  other  hand,  she  really  loved  her  country,  and 
she  meant  sincerely  to  do  her  best  for  England.  She 
chose  wise  men  for  her  advisers,  and  though  she  would 
often  storm  at  them  when  their  counsel  did  not  suit  her, 
yet  she  always  followed  it  in  the  end.  She  was  a  Tudor 
and  meant  to  have  her  own  way,  but  she  invariably 
.yielded  when  she  saw  that  she  was  going  against  the 
wishes  of  the  nation  ;  and  she  yielded  so  graciously  that 
people  almost  thought  that  all  the  time  she  was  oppos- 
ing them  she  had  meant  to  do  what  they  desired.  She 
certainly  had  grave  faults,  but  she  had  many  good  quali- 
ties;  and  these  good  qualities  were  just  the  ones  that 
the  nation  needed  at  that  time  to  unite  England  and  to 
make  her  great  in  politics,  discovery,  and  literature. 

SUMMARY 

The  accession  of  Elizabeth  was  welcome  to  England,  but 
the  poverty  of  the  crown,  the  three  opposing  religious  parties 
at  home,  and  the  foes  of  the  country  abroad,  made  her  posi- 
tion a  difficult  one.  After  the  conspiracy  in  behalf  of  Mary, 
Queen  of  Scots,  had  been  terminated  by  her  execution,  and 
the  attempts  of  Spain  to  conquer  England  had  been  ended 
by  the  defeat  of  the  Armada,  a  sense  of  freedom  filled  the 
land.     England  was  "  Mistress  of  the  Seas,"  and  she  had  no 


210  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1558-1603 

longer  any  fear  of  becoming  a  province  of  another  country. 
The  discoveries  of  Drake,  Frobisher,  Hawkins,  and  others 
widened  the  boundaries  of  the  world.  There  were  many  men 
who  could  fight,  many  who  could  govern,  many  who  could 
write,  and  not  a  few  who  seemed  able  to  succeed  in  one  line 
as  well  as  in  another. 

There  was  also  an  increasing  freedom  of  thought.  Though 
"  religious  toleration  "  was  an  idea  of  the  future,  and  some 
of  the  persecutions  were  most  bitter,  yet  an  Englishman  was 
far  less  likely  to  suffer  for  his  opinions  than  half  a  century 
earlier. 

Of  greater  value  than  victories  on  sea  or  on  land  was  the 
literary  ability  that  was  in  this  reign  so  widely  diffused,  and 
that  found  its  highest  manifestation  in  the  plays  of  Shake- 
speare. An  important  factor  in  the  greatness  of  England 
was  the  queen  herself,  with  her  intellectual  ability,  her  wis- 
dom in  choosing  advisers,  and  her  sincere  love  of  the  land 
over  which  she  ruled. 

THE  TUDORS 

19.  Henry  VII. 

1485-1509. 

20.  Henry  VIII.  Margaret,  m.  Mary,  m.  Charles 

1509-1547  James  Stuart,  King  of  Brandon. 

I  Scotland.  I 


22.  Mary.    23.  Elizabeth.    21.  Edward  VI.    James  Frances,  m. 

»5S3-i5S8.        1558-1603.  1547-1553  I  Henry  Grey. 

Mary,  Queen  of  Scots.  Lady  Jane  Grey,  m. 


Lord  Dudley. 


24.  James  I.  (Stuart.)    V-i. 
1603-1625. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  HOUSE   OF   STUART 
1603--1714 

24.  James  I.     1603- 162  5 

183.  James  I.  The  heir  to  Elizabeth's  throne  was 
James,  son  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  the  child  to  whom 
she  had  resigned  her  kingdom  when  she  was  a  prisoner 
at  Lochleven  Castle.  He  was  now  nearly  forty  years 
of  age,  and  from  his  looks  and  manner  no  one  would 
have  guessed  that  he  was  the  son  of  Queen  Mary.  She 
was  graceful  and  beautiful,  and  she  had  so  much  tact  that 
almost  every  one  who  met  her  liked  her  and  was  ready 
to  do  whatever  she*  asked.  James  was  awkward  and 
clumsy,  and  made  himself  even  more  clumsy  than  he 
was  by  nature,  because  he  was  so  afraid  of  being  assassi- 
nated that  he  had  his  clothes  heavily  padded  and  quilted. 
He  rolled  from  side  to  side  when  he  walked.  His  tongue 
was  too  big  for  his  mouth.  He  was  coarse  in  his  ways, 
and  with  all  his  delight  in  gorgeousness  he  took  no  plea- 
sure in  neatness  and  cleanliness. 

He  had  been  brought  up  very  strictly  by  the  Scotch 
Presbyterians,  who  were  far  more  rigid  in  their  ideas  than 
the  Puritans.  The  Presbyterians  believed,  for  james's 
instance,  that  it  was  very  wrong  for  a  clergyman  ®"iy  ^^• 
to  wear  a  white  surplice  when  he  preached,  and  they  felt 
sure  that  a  church  governed  by  presbyters  must  be  far 
better  than  one  governed  by  bishops.  James  had  been 
taught,  but  not  educated ;  that  is,  he  had  been  made  to 


212 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1603 


read  and  study  so  much  that  he  knew  many  facts ;  but 

it  would  have  been 
better  if  he  had 
known  only  half 
as  many  and  had 
reasoned  and 
thought  about 
them.  He  was  so 
sure  that  he  was  a 
learned  man  that 
he  was  too  con- 
ceited to  be  taught 
anything,  and  he 
never  found  out  that 
knowledge  is  of  no 
value  unless  one 
has  also  learned  how 
.to  use  it  well.  The 
brilliant  French 
"  the  wisest  fool  in 


JAMES   I. 


minister,  Sully,  said  that  James  was 
Europe." 

184.  Scotch  rejoicings.  This  was  the  man  who  now 
sat  on  the  throne  of  England.  He  was  the  sixth  king 
by  the  name  of  James  who  had  ruled  in  Scotland,  but 
the  first  of  the  name  who  had  ruled  in  England,  so  in 
English  history  he  is  always  spoken  of  as  James  I.  The 
English  were  not  especially  eager  to  have  him  for  king, 
but  the  Scotch  were  rejoiced,  for  they  had  never  forgot- 
ten the  Stone  of  Scone  that  Edward  I.  had  carried  to 
England  three  hundred  years  before ;  and  when  James 
sat  on  that  stone  in  the  coronation  chair  in  Westminster 
Abbey,  the  Scotch  felt  that  at  last  the  prophecy  had 
been  fulfilled  that  wherever  the  stone  rested  a  Scotch- 
man should  rule. 


i6o3-i6o7]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  213 

185.  Which  church  ?  The  first  question  in  the 
minds  of  James's  new  subjects  was,  which  church  he 
would  favor.  The  Roman  Catholics  hoped  that  out  of 
regard  for  his  mother's  belief,  he  would  make  life  in  Eng- 
land easier  for  them,  and  the  Puritans  hoped  that  as  he 
had  been  brought  up  among  Presbyterians,  he  would 
have  a  feeling  of  fellowship  with  them.  One  thousand 
Puritan  ministers  at  once  presented  him  with  a  mam- 
moth petition  asking  that  they  might  be  allowed  to 
preach  without  a  surplice,  to  marry  couples  without  using 
a  ring,  and  to  baptize  children  without  making  the  sign 
of  the  cross. 

James  called  several  of  these  Puritan  ministers  to  meet 
an  assembly  of  bishops  to  discuss  the  matter  in  his  pres- 
ence. Just  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  some  of  the  Puritans 
as  well  as  the  Scotch  Presbyterians  wished  to  have  no 
bishops,  he  shouted,  "  No  bishops,  no  king,"  and  "NoWshops, 
not  an  inch  would  he  move  from  that  position,  coking." 
for  he  believed  that  if  they  thought  a  church  might  be 
governed  without  bishops,  they  would  next  think  a  king-  ^ 
dom  might  be  governed  without  a  king ;  and  he  declared 
that  both  Puritans  and  Roman  Catholics  should  conform 
to  the  Church  of  England,  or  he  would  "  harry  them  out 
of  the  land,  or  else  do  worse." 

Naturally,  the  English  bishops  and  most  of  the  lords 
stood  firmly  by  the  king,  and  one  of  the  lords  who  was 
at  the  conference  said  he  was  "  fully  persuaded  that  his 
majesty  spoke  by  the  instinct  of  the  Spirit  of  God." 
At  this  meeting  no  one  really  ventured  to  speak  with 
perfect  freedom  except  the  king,  and  he  was  so  delighted 
to  have  so  fine  an  opportunity  to  display  his  knowledge 
that  he  forgot  he  was  acting  as  a  judge  who  should 
listen  and  not  argue,  and  he  himself  monopolized  the 
speech-making.     He  quoted  Latin  and  he  quoted  Greek, 


214  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1605-1611 

and  he  closed  the  conference  with  the  satisfied  conviction 
1611   The   ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  Puritans  were  not  converted  from 

Biwe  their  mistaken  ways,  they  ou^ht  to  be.     The 

translated.  ,    ,  ,.  ,  . 

one  good  that  came  from  this  convention  was  a 

new  translation  of  the  Bible.     This  was  completed  in 

161 1,  and  is  the  one  now  in  common  use. 

186.  The  Gunpowder  Plot.  People  were  no  longer 
burned  for  heresy,  but  both  Roman  Catholics  and  Puri- 
tans were  heavily  fined  and  imprisoned  and  even  tor- 
tured, and  treated  in  all  ways  with  the  greatest  unfair- 
ness and  severity.  In  a  kingdom  in  which  every  man 
belonged  to  one  of  three  religious  parties,  a  king  who 
was  so  unjust  to  two  of  those  parties  must  expect  that 
in  one  or  the  other  there  would  be  men  that  would  con- 
spire against  him.  This  was  soon  the  case  in  England. 
The  Puritans  could  become  members  of  Parliament,  and 
could  sometimes  find  redress  of  their  grievances  in  legal 
measures  ;  but  the  oath  that  every  member  of  Parliament 
must  take  was  one  that  no  Roman  Catholic  could  hon- 
estly repeat,  therefore  it  was  naturally  among  the  Roman 
Catholics  that  the  most  notorious  plot  was  formed. 

This  plot  was  a  scheme  to  blow  up  the  Parliament 
House  with  gunpowder.  A  cellar  under  the  building 
was  rented,  and  great  quantities  of  powder  were  stored 
there,  hidden  under  wood  and  coal.  It  was  arranged 
that  on  the  day  of  the  opening  of  Parliament  one  man 
should  slip  into  the  cellar  and  light  the  pile.  The  con- 
spirators hoped  that  king,  nobles,  and  bishops  would  be 
destroyed  in  a  moment.  They  had  a  long  time  to  wait, 
since,  on  one  ground  or  another,  the  opening  of  Parliament 
was  put  off  for  a  year.  That  so  terrible  a  secret  could  be 
kept  by  a  group  of  men  so  long  a  time  showed  to  what 
desperation  they  had  been  driven.  At  last,  however,  the 
time  came  ;  the  day  was  set  on  which  Parliament  should 


i6o5] 


THE    HOUSE   OF   STUART 


215 


convene.  The  hopes  of  the  conspirators  rose  higher, 
for  they  believed  that  soon  their  enemies  would  be  de- 
stroyed. 

At  the  last  moment,  the  heart  of  one  of  the  conspira- 
tors failed  him.     Hundreds  of  women  throughout  Eng- 


THE   GUNPOWDER  CONSPIRATORS 


land  might  lose  husband  or  father  or  brother,  but  his 
sister's  husband  must  be  saved.  He  sent  a  note  a  note  of 
of  warning.  Some  say  that  it  was  read  aloud  ^an^K- 
by  mistake  and  straightway  reported  to  the  council ; 
others  say  that  he  repented  of  the  fearful  scheme  and 
thought  that  this  sending  of  an  anonymous  letter  would 
be  the  best  way  to  reveal  the  plan  and  to  prevent  the 
slaughter. 

In  the  letter  of  warning  was  an  expression  suggesting 
that  the  danger  would  be  sudden.  It  is  said  that  King 
James  himself  was  the  one  who  interpreted  this  as  mean- 
ing that  gunpowder  would  be  used.     The  councillors 


2l6  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1605 

were  even  closer  guardians  of  the  secret  than  the  con- 
spirators had  been.  Arrangements  went  on  for  the 
opening  of  Parliament.  Just  before  midnight  of  Novem- 
ber fourth,  the  day  before  the  explosion  was  to  have 
taken  place,  the  lord  chamberlain  and  his  attendants 
went  to  the  cellar  under  the  building,  and  there  stood  a 
Q^y  tall  man  in  whose  possession  were  slow  matches 

Fawkes.  g^^d  touchwood.  This  was  Guy  Fawkes,  who 
was  to  touch  off  the  powder.  He  refused  to  reveal  the 
names  of  his  associates,  but  after  terrible  tortures  in  the 
Tower,  he  yielded. 

This  plot  was  known  to  only  a  few  men,  but  in  the 
minds  of  the  public  the  blame  was  thrown  upon  all  that 
were  Roman  Catholics,  and  the  laws  against  them  became 
more  rigorous  than  ever.  The  fifth  of  November,  1605, 
was  the  day  appointed  for  the  explosion.'  It  is  still  called 
"Guy  Fawkes's  Day,"  and  the  old  rhymes  are  not  yet 
forgotten  :  — 

"  Don't  you  remember 
The  fifth  of  November, 
The  gunpowder  treason  and  plot? 
I  see  no  reason 
Why  gunpowder  treason 
Should  ever  be  forgot." 

The  day  was  celebrated  in  America  until  Revolutionary 
times. 

187.  "Divine  right  of  kings."  During  his  whole 
reign  James's  favorite  idea  was  the  "divine  right  of 
kings."  He  believed  that  no  matter  how  bad  a  man  was, 
God  had  appointed  him  to  rule,  if  he  was  only  the  oldest 
son  of  the  preceding  sovereign,  and  no  Christian  could 
rightfully  oppose  him  in  anything  that  he  chose  to  do. 
In  earlier  days  the  English  people  had  made  the  man 
king  who  seemed  best  able  to  rule.     Then  they  began 


i6o5-i6ii]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART 


217 


ANNE  OF  DENMARK, 
WIFE  OF  JAMES  I. 

Showing  the  "  Wheel  Far- 
thingale "  then  worn 


to  prefer  that  the  same  family  should  continue  in  power, 

but  they  chose  among  the  members  of  that  family  the 

one  that  seemed  to  be  worthiest  of 

the  throne.    Gradually  they  had  come 

to  feel  that  it  was  wiser  to  choose 

the  oldest  son  or  his  descendants ; 

but  to  be  told  that  this  oldest  son 

was  invariably  the  one  chosen  of  God 

to  rule  them,  and  that  the  nation  had 

nothing  to  do  with  the  matter  but  to 

accept  and  obey  whatever  laws  he 

wished  to  make,  was  quite  a  new  idea 

to  them. 

James   paid   no   attention   to  the 
rights  of  his   subjects.      If  he  was 
not  pleased  with  the  men  who  were 
elected  members  of  Parliament,  he 
refused  to  allow  them  to  serve.     If  the  records  of  Parlia- 
ment  did   not   suit    him,   he  calmly  tore   the  j^^^^,^ 
pages  out  of  the  book.     When  his  ministers  exercise 
begged  him  to  give  his  attention  to  some  im-  "divine 
portant  public  matters,  he  said  that  the  most  ^s^^-" 
important  matter  in  the  kingdom  was  for  him  to  have 
the  exercise  and  recreation  that  his  health  required ;  and 
while  papers  that  affected  the  welfare  of  millions  of  his 
subjects  lay  waiting  for  his  signature,  he  went  hunting 
and  hawking,  and  spent  his  days  in  the  most  disgusting 
of  drunken  orgies.     Some  great  writers  of  plays  lived  in 
the  reign  of  James,  and  whenever  they  described  the 
court,  they  pictured  most  coarse  and  vulgar  scenes. 

188.  James's  efforts  to  obtain  money.  James  had 
favorites,  who,  like  those  of  Edward  II.,  were  idle,  worth- 
less men.  His  gifts  to  them  were  unlimited.  Hcseemed 
to  have  no  idea  that  a  king  had  any  responsibility  in 


2l8  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [l6ii 

spending  the  money  that  the  taxation  of* his  subjects  had 
put  into  his  hands.  His  treasurer  once  gave  him  a 
James's  lesson.  He  showed  him  a  great  heap  of  coin 
favorites,  lying  on  the  floor,  and  when  the  king  asked, 
"Whose  is  this.?"  he  replied,  "It  was  your  majesty's 
before  you  gave  it  away."  This  money,  twenty  thousand 
pounds,  had  been  promised  to  one  of  these  unworthy 
favorites,  but  now  that  the  king  realized  how  much  it 
was,  he  declared  that  the  favorite  should  never  have  it. 
Immense  amounts  were  squandered  upon  these  worthless 
men,  and  upon  James's  drunken  revels  and  disgraceful 
amusements  and  entertainments.  How  to  get  money 
was  always  the  question.  Parliament  was  never  willing 
to  give  without  at  least  a  promise  that  the  king  would 
not  infringe  upon  its  rights.  James  demanded  the  pay- 
ment of  a  tax  on  goods  that  were  exported  and  imported. 
He  called  for  another  tax  when  his  oldest  son  was 
Tiue  of  knighted ;  he  introduced  a  new  title,  that  of 
baronet  baronet,  and  gave  it  to  almost  any  one  that 
would  pay  for  it.  He  would  have  been  glad  to  revive 
the  old  scheme  of  demanding  benevolences,  but  when  he 
invited  London  to  make  him  a  present,  that  city  refused. 
The  king  was  angry  and  vowed  that  he  would  punish  the 
Londoners  by  removing  his  court  to  some  more  loyal 
place.     It  is  said  that  the  lord  mayor  replied  :  — 

"Your  majesty  hath  power  to  do  what  you  please, 
and  your  City  of  London  will  obey  accordingly,  but  she 
humbly  desires  that  when  your  majesty  shall  remove 
your  courts,  you  would  please  to  leave  the  Thames  be- 
hind you." 

Finally,  a  great  scheme  was  proposed.     This  was  to 

marry  the  king's  son  Charles  to  the  Spanish 

ish  mar-  ^    princess.     She  would  have  a  large  dowry,  and 

'*****  the  royal  coffers  would  again  be  filled  so  that 


[6i8] 


THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART 


219' 


the  king  could  begin  another  course  of  his  degrading 
amusements.  The  English  people  were  indignant  enough 
when  they  saw  his  increasing  familiarity  with  the  Span- 
ish minister,  and  a  little  later  they  had  even  more  reason 
for  their  wrath.  In  the  Tower  a  remarkable  Execution 
man,  named  Walter  Raleigh,  had  been  kept  a  «*  Raleigh, 
prisoner  for  twelve  years  under  sentence  of  death  on  a 
false  charge  of  con- 
spiracy against  the 
king.  He  was  a  sol- 
dier, an  explorer,  a 
courtier,  a  student,  a 
poet ;  indeed,  there 
seemed  to  be  nothing 
that  this  man  of  many 
talents  could  not  do 
and  do  well.  Before 
his  imprisonment  he 
had  made  voyages  to 
the  New  World,  and 
had  even  tried  to  plant 
a  colony.  He  felt 
sure  that  if  he  were 

allowed  to  take  a  fleet  to  America,  he  could  find  a  certain 
rich  gold  mine.  This  was  a  temptation  to  James,  and  he 
sent  Raleigh,  but  with  strict  orders  not  to  interfere  with 
the  Spaniards  who  were  settled  on  the  South  American 
coast.  Then  James  in  his  folly  told  the  Spanish  minister 
all  about  the  scheme,  and,  of  course,  when  Raleigh  landed 
in  America,  the  Spaniards  were  awaiting  him,  and  there 
was  trouble  at  once.  Spain  already  hated  him  because 
he  was  one  of  those  who  defeated  the  Armada,  and  to 
please  Spain  and  secure  the  princess  with  her  dowry, 
Raleigh  was  executed  on  the  old  charge  of  conspiracy. 


SIR   WALTER   RALEIGH 


220  ENGLAND'S    STORY  ti6o7-i02o 

The  wrath  of  the  nation  was  aroused,  and  became  even 
morefurious  when  James's  son  Charles  —  "  Baby  Charles," 
No  aiuance  the  father  called  him  —  set  off  to  visit  Spain, 
with  Spain.  Whether  the  Spanish  were  never  in  earnest 
about  this  marriage  and  were  only  deceiving  James  in 
order  to  keep  him  under  their  control,  or  whether  Charles 
was  better  pleased  with  the  French  princess  whom  he 
met  on  the  way,  is  perhaps  not  fully  known.  At  any 
rate,  the  Spanish  marriage  was  given  up,  and  the  country 
rejoiced. 

189.  Merchants  go  to  America.  In  James's  reign 
there  were  two  classes  of  men  who  had  thought  with 
especial  longing  of  the  wonderful  country  across  the  At- 
lantic. The  first,  a  company  of  merchants  and  specula- 
tors, remembered  the  stories  that  had  been  told  of  vast 
quantities  of  gold  and  silver  that  lay  hidden  in  the  un- 
explored lands.  They  formed  a  colony  to  go  to  Vir- 
ginia, a  territory  which  had  been  so  named  by  Raleigh 
in  memory  of  his  having  discovered  it  during  the  reign 
James-  ^^  ^  virgin  queen.  They  left  England  in  1607, 
town.  and  founded  on  the  James  River  the  first  per- 

1607 

manent  English  settlement  in  America.  It  was 
to  be  a  somewhat  aristocratic  place.  It  was  named  James- 
town in  honor  of  the  king,  and  he  was  to  control  its  laws. 
Almost  all  the  colonists  were  men  who  had  no  idea  how 
to  do  anything  with  their  hands.  These  were  hardly  the 
kind  of  people  to  become  settlers  in  a  new  country,  and 
naturally  they  had  all  sorts  of  troubles.  Fortunately  for 
them.  Captain  John  Smith  was  among  them,  a  man  who 
seemed  to  know  just  what  to  do  in  every  difficulty,  and 
the  colony  finally  became  flourishing  and  wealthy. 

190.  Pilgrims  go  to  America.  The  Puritans  had 
been  persecuted  and  tormented  and  imprisoned.  They 
were  even  forbidden  to  meet  quietly  in  one  another's 


i62o3  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  221 

houses  for  prayer  and  preaching.  They  wished  to  purify 
the  Church  of  England  and  not  to  leave  it,  but  there  were 
many  who,  while  agreeing  with  the  Puritans  in  religious 
belief,  wished  to  be  entirely  free  from  the  Church  of 
England.  These  men  were  called  Independents,  or  Sepa- 
ratists. ;'         .         '  ,  .  ,  "~ 

^Early  in  the  reign  of  James  some  of  these  Independ- 
ents had  asked  his  leave  to  go  to  America,  but  the  king 
would  not  give  permission.     They  knew  that  in 
Holland  men  were  free  to  worship  God  in  any  entsin 
way  that  they  thought  right,  so  they  contrived 
to  escape  to  Holland,  and  there  they  remained  for  twelve 
years ;  but  they  were  English  at  heart  and  they  wished 
to  live  under  the  English  government,  badly  as  it  had 
treated    them.     After   many   attempts,    these   harassed 
people  at  last  secured  a  grudging  permission  to  go  to 
the  land  under  English  control  across  the  seas.     There 
they  could  bring  up  their  children  as  they  thought  right, 
and  worship  God  in  the  way  that  they  believed  would  be 
pleasing  to  Him.     So  it  was  that  in  1620  the  brave  little 
company  of  "  Pilgrim  Fathers  "  set  sail  in  the  piymoua. 
Mayflower,  and  after  many  weeks  of  discomfort  ^®^®" 
and   danger   landed    on    the    New   England   coast    and 
founded  a  settlement  which  they  named  Plymouth. 

191.  James's  character.  If  James  had  done  just  one 
noble  deed  before  his  death,  it  would  have  gone  far  to- 
wards making  people  think  kindly  of  him,  but  to  the  very 
end  of  his  life  he  went  on  in  his  career  of  gluttony, 
drunkenness,  and  folly.  The  discord  which  his  deeds  had 
aroused  between  king  and  people  was  a  sad  inheritance 
for  his  son  Charles,  and  one  could  almost  have  prophe- 
sied the  troubles  of  the  next  reign. 


222  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1625-1649 

SUMMARY 

James's  accession  delighted  Scotland.  Roman  Catholics 
and  Puritans  hoped  for  his  favor,  but  his  support  was  given 
to  the  Church  of  England.  Puritan  clergymen  appealed  for 
freedom  in  church  ceremonies,  but  the  only  good  result  of 
the  royal  conference  was  a  new  translation  of  the  Bible. 

The  discovery  of  the  "  Gunpowder  Plot "  prevented  the 
destruction  of  the  king  and  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament. 

James  imposed  as  many  taxes  as  he  dared,  and  to  fill  his 
coffers  attempted  to  marry  his  son  to  the  Spanish  princess. 
Raleigh  was  sacrificed  to  Spanish  hatred.  Merchants  and 
Pilgrims  went  to  America. 

James's  favorite  idea  was  the  "  divine  right  of  kings,"  but 
his  weakness  and  folly  lessened  the  personal  devotion  that 
the  nation  had  shown  to  the  Tudors.  As  the  king's  power 
diminished,  the  strength  of  Parliament  increased. 

25.  Charles  I.     1625-1649         ^^ 

192.  Charles  I.  and  the  "divine  right."  For  the 
quiet  and  peace  of  England  there  could  hardly  have  been 
a  worse  king  than  Charles  I.  In  some  way  he  had  per- 
suaded himself  that  while  it  would  be  wrong  to  tell  a 
falsehood  to  a  member  of  his  family  or  to  one  of  his 
friends,  it  was  perfectly  right  to  deceive  his  subjects  in 
any  way  that  suited  his  convenience.  He  believed  in  the 
"divine  right  of  kings"  even  more  firmly  than  did  his 
father,  and  he  was  convinced  that  if  the  people  did  not 
recognize  his  "divine  right"  to  do  as  he  wished,  it  was 
simply  because  they  were  wilful  and  obstinate,  and  he 
was  more  "divinely  commissioned"  than  ever  to  make 
them  obedient  by  deceit  or  any  other  means. 

193.  Charles's  deceitfulness.  He  had  shown  this 
belief  even  before  he  became  king,  at  the  time  when 
he  wished  to  marry  the  French  princess  whom  he  had 


i625] 


THE  HOUSE   OF   STUART 


223 


seen  on  his  way  to  Spain.  The  Protestants  in  England 
had  increased  in  power  and  in  numbers,  and  they  were 
unwilling  that  a  Roman  Catholic  should  become  their 
queen,  lest  more  favor  should  be  given  to  her  church. 
To  satisfy  them,  both  Charles  and  his  father  had  pro- 
mised Parliament  that 
no  such  favor  should 
be  shown.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  French 
princess  would  not 
come  to  England  un- 
less she  could  be  as- 
sured that  she  might 
bring  with  her  a  nu- 
merous train  of  Roman 
Catholic  priests  and 
ladies  and  attendants. 
This  would  violate  the 
agreement  with  Parlia- 
ment, but  both  Charles 
and  his  father  made 
this  promise  too,  and 

Charles  married  the  French  princess.    The  English  peo- 
ple saw  at  once  that  he  had  deceived  them,  but  they 
were  so  glad  to  be  sure  that  he  would  not  marry  the 
princess  of  Spain  that  they  were  ready  to  overlook  even 
such  treachery  as  this.     Charles  had  no  power  prencii 
to  keep  the  promises  of  favor  to  the  Roman  c°thoUcs 
Catholics  which  he  had  made  to  obtain  his  wife,   expelled, 
and  his  attempts  to  do  so  only  aroused  the  English  Pro- 
testants, while  his  failure  called  forth  the  wrath  of  France. 
To  crown  it  all,  he  finally  gave  orders  that  his  wife's 
priests  and  attendants  should  be  driven  out  of  the  land. 
He  wrote  to  his  minister  :  — ■- 


CHARLES   I. 


224  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1625 

"  I  command  you  to  send  all  the  French  away  to- 
morrow out  of  the  town.  If  you  can,  by  fair  means  (but 
stick  not  long  in  disputing) ;  otherwise  force  them  away, 
driving  them  away  like  so  many  wild  beasts." 

If  it  had  not  been  for  his  deceitfulness,  the  nation 
might  well  have  been  proud  of  their  king.  In  appear- 
ance and  manner  he  was  *an  ideal  monarch,  dignified, 
handsome,  and  courteous.  He  was  a  scholarly  man  and 
had  some  intellectual  ability.  He  seemed  to  have  inher- 
ited all  the  good  traits  of  his  grandmother,  Mary,  Queen 
of  Scots,  and  had  it  not  been  for  his  one  unpardonable 
fault,  the  English  nation  would  have  refused  him  nothing. 

It  was  because  of  his  unwillingness  to  be  frank  and 
honest  with  his  people  that  he  was  in  trouble  from  the 
very  beginning  of  his  reign.  When  his  first  Parliament 
met,  he  called  for  a  large  amount  of  money  to  carry  out 
some  vague  schemes  of  his  for  making  war  upon  Spain 
and  capturing  some  Spanish  treasure-ships.  He  wished 
Parliament  to  provide  the  money  without  a  question  ;  but 
as  he  seemed  to  have  no  definite  plans  for  the  war,  and 
his  only  idea  of  finding  a  treasure-ship  was  to  sail  about 
the  ocean  till  he  chanced  to  come  across  one.  Parliament 
refused ;  and  refused  also  to  give  him  any  promise  of  in- 
come from  "tonnage,"  a  tax  on  shipping,  and 
and  "poundage,"  a  tax  on  merchandise,  for  more 

poun  age.  ^^^.^^  q^^q  year.  For  the  last  two  centuries  it  had 
been  the  custom  to  grant  the  income  from  these  taxes 
to  each  succeeding  king  for  life,  and  now  Charles  was 
angry.  He  refused  to  accept  the  grant  if  made  for  only 
one  year,  but  nevertheless  he  proceeded  to  collect  the 
duties,  and  went  to  war  with  Spain  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility. If  he  had  been  successful,  the  attempt  might 
have  won  popularity,  but  the  whole  affair  was  so  badly 
managed  that  the  people  were  more  indignant  than  ever. 


1625-1626]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART 


225 


194.  Illegal  taxes.  Money  was  needed,  and  there- 
fore Charles  had  to  summon  Parliament  again.  Parlia- 
ment would  not  give  him  money  unless  he  would  show 
clearly  that  he  wished  it  for  some  purpose  of  which  the 
country  would  approve  ;  and  Charles  was  indignant  that 
mere  subjects  should  dare  to  do  such  a  thing  as  to  ques- 
tion what  he  meant  to  do  with  the  money.     As  he  could 


SOLDIERS,    TIME   OF   CHARLES   1 
Musketeer  and  Pikeman 


get  no  funds  by  lawful  means,  the  only  thing  was  to  get 
them  in  any  way  that  he  could  ;  and  again  a  foolish  king 
tried  to  collect  what  were  really  almost  the  same  as  be- 
nevolences, although  the  amount  demanded  was  in  some 
proportion  to  each  man's  income.  This  tax  was  not  legal, 
because  it  had  not  been  voted  by  Parliament,  and  a  few 
brave  men  refused  to  pay  it ;  but,  nevertheless,  a  large 
sum  of  money  was  collected,  for  not  many  dared  to  risk 
the  anger  of  the  king. 

France  and  Spain  had  united  their  forces  against  Eng- 


226  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1626-1628 

land,  and  Charles  could  get  no  money  to  resist  their 
attacks  unless  he  appealed  to  Parliament ;  so  there  was 
ParUament  nothing  to  do  but  to  call  for  another  session, 
is  caued.  f  ]^g  j^jng  was  angry  and  scornful ;  Parliament 
was  indignant  at  his  treatment  of  his  subjects,  and 
alarmed  at  what  might  be  the  result  if  this  arbitrary 
sovereign  was  allowed  to  go  on  in  his  course.  Charles 
had  no  intention  of  keeping  the  laws,  and  as  the  courts 
of  justice  were  under  his  control,  they  would  uphold  * 
whatever  he  chose  to  do.  Parliament  decided  that  vot- 
ing money  for  war  was  not  the  most  important  matter 
on  hand ;  affairs  at  home  must  first  be  attended  to. 

195.  The  "Petition  of  Rights."  When  a  king  did 
not  do  what  his  subjects  thought  just,  the  proper  way 
to  tell  him  so  was  to  present  a  petition.  In  King  John's 
time  it  was  the  nobles  alone  who  had  stood  firm  to  right 
the  grievances  of  the  kingdom,  but  now  nobles  and  com- 
mons were  much  in  sympathy.  A  paper,  called  a  "  Peti- 
tion of  Rights,"  was  sent  to  the  king,  and' he  was  made  to 
understand  that  no  supplies  would  be  voted  until  he  had 
signed  it.  All  that  the  petition  asked  was  that  he 
should  keep  the  laws  of  the  land ;  and  the  main  points 
named  were  that  no  one  should  be  imprisoned  unlaw- 
fully, and  that  no  taxes  or  benevolences  should  be  de- 
manded without  the  consent  of  Parliament.  There  would 
seem  to  be  no  reason  why  an  honorable  king  should  have 
hesitated  a  moment  before  signing  this,  and  the  king 
did  agree  to  it,  but  instead  of  writing  the  usual  form  of 
words,  "  Let  right  be  done  as  is  desired,"  he  wrote  a 
form  so  roundabout  that  Parliament  suspected  that  he 
would  soon  find  a  loophole  and  not  keep  his  word  after 
all.  The  members  of  Parliament  were  so  wretched  and 
discouraged  that  more  than  one  broke  down  utterly  and 
burst  into  tears.     The  king  was  to  meet  them  the  next 


1628-1629]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  22/ 

morning.  What  would  he  say?  Was  there  any  hope 
of  peace  ? 

In  the  morning  the  king  came  before  the  House,  and, 
much  to  their  surprise,  he  tore  away  what  he  had  written, 
and  signed  his  name  to  the  usual  formula,  "  Let  right  be 
done  as  is  desired."  The  members  of  Parliament  were 
so  rejoiced  that  they  straightway  voted  all  the  supplies 
that  the  king  had  asked.  Then  they  began  to  discuss 
the  matters  that  had  been  mentioned  in  their  petition 
and  to  plan  how  to  reform  the  abuses,  but  here  Charles 
interfered  and  closed  the  session. 

196.  Parliament's  protest.  The  next  year  Parlia- 
ment met  again.  There  was  great  excitement,  for  sign- 
ing the  "  Petition  of  Rights  "had  had  no  effect  upon  the 
actions  of  the  king.  Another  trouble  had  arisen,  for 
Laud,  Archbishop  of  London,  had  introduced  into  the 
church  service  many  ceremonies  that  were  so  much  like 
those  of  the  Roman  Catholics  that  Parliament  feared  a 
return  to  the  Romish  doctrine.  The  Speaker  of  the 
House  knew  that  a  protest  was  coming,  and  he  attempted 
to  adjourn  the  assembly,  saying  that  he  did  so  by  the 
king's  orders.  King  or  no  king,  Parliament  was  resolved 
that  the  protest  should  be  heard ;  and  so,  while  two 
members  held  the  Speaker  down  in  his  chair  and  another 
locked  the  outer  door,  a  declaration  was  read  that  who- 
ever favored  the  teachings  of  Rome,  and  whoever  paid 
voluntarily  any  tax  not  voted  by  Parliament,  was  an  enemy 
to  his  country. 

During  the  reading  of  the  protest,  the  king  had  sent 
for  one  of  the  officers,  but  the  man  was  not  allowed  to 
leave  the  room.  The  king  sent  a  message,  but  the 
House  refused  to  admit  the  messenger.  Then  the  king 
"grew  into  much  rage  and  passion"  and  sent  the  royal 
guard  to  break  in  the  door  ;  but  now  that  the  protest  had 


228  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1629-1640 

been  read  and  every  member  of  the  House  had  heard 
it,  the  doors  were  thrown  open  and  Parliament  quietly 
adjourned. 

197.  Eleven  years  without  Parliament.  The  king 
took  off  his  royal  robes  and  said  that  never  again  would 
he  put  them  on  to  enter  the  House,  for  he  would  rule 
without  any  Parliament ;  and  this  he  did  for  eleven  long 
years.  He  and  his  ministers  invented  all  kinds  of  ways 
to  fill  the  royal  treasury.  One  way  was  by  granting 
"monopolies,"  an  old  abuse  of  the  preceding  century;  for 
instance,  one  man  would  receive  from  the  king  permis- 
sion to  make  soap,  and  all  other  men  would  be  forbidden 
to  carry  on  the  business.  Of  course,  this  man  could  well 
afford  to  pay  a  high  price  for  such  permission,  and  the 
star  Cham-  nioney  went  into  the  king's  treasury.  The 
fterrevived.  Q^^^iv  Chamber  of  Henry  VH.'s  day  was  revived, 
and  any  one  that  ventured  to  object  to  a  royal  tax  was 
by  this  tribunal  condemned  to  pay  a  much  larger  one ; 
and  if  he  refused,  his  goods  were  taken  from  him.  This 
court  was  in  the  hands  of  Earl  Strafford,  a  noble  who  was 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  the  king.  He  had  a  plan  which 
he  named  "  Thorough,"  and  its  aim  was  to  make  the 
king  absolutely  independent.  Whatever  Charles  chose 
to  demand  was  to  be  granted,  even  if  it  was  against  the 
laws  of  the  country  and  the  will  of  Parliament. 

Another  kind  of  tribunal  was  known  as  the  Court  of 
High  Commission.  Archbishop  Laud  presided  over  this, 
The  Court  and  here  those  that  did  not  believe  it  right  to 
oommis-  worship  in  the  form  prescribed  by  the  Church 
Bion.  of  England  were  fined.     This  court  had  existed 

in  Elizabeth's  day,  but  had  never  been  such  an  instru- 
ment of  tyranny  as  it  now  became.  Men  who  were 
brought  up  before  either  of  these  courts  had  no  trial  and 
no  way  of  defending  themselves.  They  must  pay  what- 
ever fine  was  demanded  or  be  sent  to  prison. 


1630-1637]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  229 

Of  course  the  Puritans  suffered  terribly  from  such  a 

government  as  this.     They  were  fined,  and  imprisoned, 

and  whipped,  and  branded  with  red-hot  irons.   „ 

^^      '  Persecution 

It  is  no  wonder  that  they  thought  more  and  oi  the  Puri- 

more  of  going  to  the  New  World,  where  they    ^^' 
would  be  far  away  from  the  tyranny  of  such  a  king  and 
such  ministers.     John  Winthrop  published  a  long  list  of 
reasons  why  Puritans  should  no  longer  remain  in  such  a 
land,  where  their  children  were  "  perverted,  corrupted, 
and    utterly    overthrown    by   the  multitude  of  evil  ex- 
amples," and  in  1630  a  company  of  these  Puritans,  with 
Winthrop  for  their  leader,  sailed  for  America  Boston 
and   founded    Boston.      Two   strong,    resolute  ^o^^*®*- 
men  —  if  we  may  trust  the  old  story  —  wished  to  sail 
with  them,  and  were  on  board  the  vessel  when  it  was  in 
the  Thames,  but  the  king  forbade  their  going.     A  few 
years  later  he  must  have  been  sorry   that  he  had   de- 
tained them,  for  these  men  were  John   Hampden  and 
Oliver  Cromwell. 

Still  the  king  had  not  money  enough,  for  he  and  Straf- 
ford had  decided  that  the  only  way  to  maintain  absolute 
power  was  to  establish  a  royal  army.  But  ghip. 
whence  should  they  get  the  money  to  pay  the  moii«7- 
soldiers  ?  There  was  another  old  law,  or  custom,  that 
they  thought  they  could  revive.  In  earlier  times  the 
sovereign  had  been  allowed  to  call  upon  the  seaports 
to  contribute  ships  or  money  when  there  was  danger 
of  invasion  by  sea.  "  What  one  king  has  done,  another 
king  may  do,"  said  Charles  and  his  advisers,  and  he 
demanded  "  ship-money  "  from  the  whole  kingdom. 

The  land  was  not  at  war,  and  there  was  no  danger  of 
any  invasion.     People  were  sure  that  the  king 
would    use   whatever    money   he   obtained    in  Hampden's 
this  way  to  establish  an   army.     It  needed  a  *^"^'^- 


230 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1637 


bold  man  to  refuse  to  pay,  but  there  were  some  who 

did  refuse,  and 
among  them  was 
this  brave  John 
Hampden  who 
had  wished  to  go 
to  America.  The 
twenty  shillings 
demanded  of  him 
he  would  not  pay. 
After  months 
of  deliberation, 
seven  judges  out 
of  twelve  decided 
against  him  ;  but 
all  these  judges 
were  servants  of 
the  king,  and  the 
fact  that  five  of 
them  favored  Hampden  encouraged  men  throughout  the 
kingdom  to  refuse  to  pay  the  unjust  tax. 

198.  Trouble  in  Scotland.  Charles  had  put  the  coun- 
try into  a  turmoil,  but  he  had  gained  no  wisdom  from 
his  troubles.  Instead  of  trying  to  make  matters  better 
in  England,  he  turned  his  attention  to  Scotland  —  and 
wherever  he  turned  his  attention,  there  were  sure  to  be 
difficulties.  He  chose  this  time  of  all  times  to  try  to 
compel  the  Scotch  Presbyterians  to  use  the  English 
Prayer  Book.  The  Dean  of  Edinburgh  did  his  best  to 
obey  the  king's  orders,  but  in  a  moment  the  church  was 
full  of  angry  shouts.  He  tried  again,  and  an  old  woman 
named  Jane  Gaddis,  or  Geddes,  threw  at  the  dean's  head 
the  little  stool  on  which  she  had  been  sitting,  and  cried, 
"  Do  you  mean  to  say  mass  at  my  ear  ? "     Then  came 


JOHN    HAMPDEN 


1640-1641]  THE   HOUSE   OF    STUART  23I 

rebellion,  and  the  king  had  no  money  to  pay  soldiers. 
There  was   nothing  to  do  but  to  call    Parlia-  The  "Long 
ment,  and  this  Charles  did  in    1640.      It  was  ^"^*; 
called  the  "  Long  Parliament,"  because  it  did  1640. 
not  dissolve  for  twenty  years. 

199.  Parliament's  opposition.  Much  as  the  people 
had  suffered,  they  had  not  yet  come  to  the  point  where 
they  would  accuse  their  king  directly  of  unfaithfulness 
to  the  kingdom  intrusted  to  him.  Instead  of  La^d  and 
this,  they  accused  his  advisers.  Laud  and  Straf-  straiiord. 
ford,  of  treason,  and  both  were  sent  to  the  Tower. 
Charles  wrote  a  friendly  letter  to  Strafford  and  said, 
"  Upon  the  word  of  a  king,  you  shall  not  suffer  in  life, 
honor,  or  fortune.  This  is  but  justice."  Within  three 
weeks  Strafford  had  a  chance  to  learn  the  value  of  the 
word  of  this  king,  for  Charles  signed  his  death  warrant, 
and  he  was  beheaded.  Laud's  execution  took  place  a 
few  years  later. 

The  king  could  easily  find  new  men  to  serve  him, 
thought  Parliament,  and  an  act  was  passed  at  once  to 
aboHsh  the  Star  Chamber  and  the  Court  of  High  Com- 
mission. More  than  once  Charles  had  abruptly  closed 
the  session  when  he  wished  to  stop  the  discussion  of  any 
matter,  and  now  Parliament  did  not  mean  to  be  caught 
a^ain  in  the  same  trap,  so  the  next  law  enacted  was  that 
the  present  session  should  not  be  closed  without  the  per- 
mission of  a  majority  of  the  members. 

200.  Trouble  in  Ireland.  With  England  and  Scot- 
land against  the  king,  the  next  event  was  trouble  in  Ire- 
land. In  the  earlier  times  Ireland  was  superior  to  Eng- 
land in  learning  and  cultivation,  and  the  Irish  schools 
were  famed  throughout  Europe.  Before  the  eleventh 
century  they  ceased  to  exist,  chiefly  because  of  the  inva- 
sions of  the  Danes.     The  culture  of   many  years  was 


232  ENGLAND'S    STORY        [i 2th- 1 6th  Cent. 

destroyed.  In  the  twelfth  century,  Henry  II.  had  made 
a  partial  conquest  of  the  eastern  and  southern  parts  of 
England's  the  island,  but  this  conquest  was  in  reality 
nectionw?tii  hardly  more  than  establishing  posts,  from 
Ireland.  which  continual  warfare  was  waged  with  the 
Irish.  Moreover,  the  English  within  "the  Pale,"  as  the 
land  held  by  them  in  Ireland  was  called,  instead  of  help- 
ing the  Irish  to  recover  the  civilization  they  had  lost, 
only  scorned  them ;  but,  strangely  enough,  before  many 
years  had  passed,  the  English  in  Ireland  were  on  no 
higher  plane  than  their  neighbors,  though  many  laws 
had  been  made  to  keep  the  two  peoples  apart.  There 
were  laws  that  they  should  not  intermarry,  and  that  the 
English  should  not  play  the  old  Irish  games  or  speak 
the  Irish  language.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.  it  was 
decreed  that  if  the  Irish  wished  to  make  a  law,  they 
must  first  get  permission  from  England.  Henry  VIII. 
called  himself  King  of  Ireland,  and  commanded  the  Irish 
to  accept  him  as  the  head  of  the  church.  Even  the  wise 
Queen  Elizabeth  was  exceedingly  unwise  in  her  treat- 
ment of  the  island,  for  she  sent  her  favorite,  the  Earl  of 
Essex,  to  Ireland  as  governor.  Rebellion  arose.  There 
was  famine,  and  the  punishment  of  the  starving  people 
was  so  severe  that  the  queen  herself  put  a  stop  to  it 
lest,  as  she  said,  she  should  have  "nothing  but  ash^s 
and  corpses  to  ride  over." 

The  opposition  of  Henry  VIII.  had  developed  a  strong 
Irish  devotion  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  when  James 
T.     A.     s  persecuted  the  Irish  to  make  them  accept  the 

Founding  of    ^  ^ 

London-  Church  of  England,  they  were  deeply  resentful. 
There  could  hardly  fail  to  be  rebellion.  In  pun- 
ishment James  seized  all  northeastern  Ireland  and  granted 
it  to  any  Scotchmen  or  Englishmen  who  wished  to  settle 
in  that  part  of  the  country.     Many  went  from  London, 


1641-1642]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  233 

and  they  named  their  settlement  Londonderry  in  memory 
of  their  old  home. 

Charles  had  appointed  Strafford  governor  of  Ireland, 
and  although  the  earl  introduced  many  measures  for  the 
good  of  the  land,  his  rule  was  so  harsh  that  a  ixish 
very  small  injustice  would  arouse  a  revolt ;  and  "^°"*- 
it  was  not  long  before  the  Irish  that  had  been  turned 
out  of  their  homes  in  northeastern  Ireland  did  revolt 
and  massacre  many  of  the  English  settlers  in  their  land. 
What  should  be  done  ?  If  England  was  to  maintain  her 
hold  on  Ireland,  the  revolt  must  be  put  down  and  pun- 
ished ;  but  to  give  the  king  men  and  money  was  to  en- 
danger the  liberties  of  England,  for  he  would  then  be 
strong  enough  to  compel  those  members  of  Parliament 
who  were  opposed  to  him  to  submit  to  his  will. 

201.  The  "  Grand  Remonstrance."  There  was  much 
discussion.  Some  stood  firmly  by  the  king.  Some 
thought  that  it  was  the  wisest  plan,  since  the  king  had 
yielded  several  points,  to  bear  with  him,  and  hope  that 
nothing  worse  would  come  to  pass.  Some  —  and  there 
were  more  of  these  than  of  both  the  other  parties  —  felt 
that  they  had  endured  as  long  as  they  could,  and  that 
they  could  put  no  confidence  in  anything  that  he  might 
promise.  They  drew  up  a  paper  called  the  "  Grand  Re- 
monstrance," which  named,  one  after  another,  the  acts  of 
Charles  that  were  against  the  laws  of  the  land. 

202.  Charles  tries  to  arrest  raembers  of  Parliament. 
Charles  well  knew  who  were  the  five  leaders  of  this  third 
party,  and  he  made  up  his  mind  to  arrest  them.  A  cer- 
tain soldier  had  a  hint  of  what  the  king  meant  to  do,  and 
he  contrived  to  let  Parliament  know  what  was  coming  to 
pass.  The  five  men  appeared  and  took  their  seats,  but 
Parliament  begged  them  to  withdraw  to  prevent  any 
scene  of  violence  in  the  House.     Four  yielded,  but  the 


234  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1642 

fifth  would  not  go  until  an  old  friend  pulled  him  out  of 
the  door  just  as  the  king  drew  near.  The  attendants 
stood  back,  and  through  the  long  lane  between  them  the 
king  passed,  handsome  and  dignified,  upstairs  and  to  the 
House  of  Commons.  The  door  was  thrown  open,  and 
Charles  walked  slowly  to  the  chair  of  the  Speaker.  All 
the  members  rose  with  uncovered  heads  to  hear  what  the 
king  might  say. 

He  looked  about  the  House,  but  could  not  see  the  five 
members.  Then  he  ordered  the  Speaker  to  point  them 
out.     The  Speaker  fell  on  his  knees  and  answered  :  — 

"May  it  please  your  majesty,  I  have  neither  eyes  to 
see  nor  tongue  to  speak  in  this  place,  but  as  the  House 
is  pleased  to  direct  me,  whose  servant  I  am  here,  and 
humbly  beg  your  majesty's  pardon  that  I  cannot  give  any 
other  answer  than  this  to  what  your  majesty  is  pleased  to 
demand  of  me." 

The  king  declared  that  what  these  five  men  had  said  in 
the  House  was  treason,  and  not  the  "  Privilege,"  or  right 
of  free  discussion  that  belonged  to  every  member  of  Par- 
liament, and  he  ordered  the  men  to  be  sent  to  him  as 
soon  as  they  appeared.  He  explained  "in  the  word  of  a 
king,"  as  he  said,  that  he  had  not  intended  to  use  force. 
He  made  his  customary  remark,  that  whatever  he  had 
done  for  the  good  of  his  subjects,  this  he  should  continue 
to  do,  and  then  he  and  his  guards  withdrew,  while  mem- 
bers of  the  House  called  "  Privilege  !  privilege  !  " 

203.  Why  there  was  no  compromise.  There  were 
many  efforts  made  to  keep  the  two  parties  from  violence, 
and  the  king  was  at  last  ready  to  promise  almost  every- 
thing that  was  asked  of  him.  There  would  probably 
have  been  some  compromise,  had  it  not  been  that  people 
knew  by  an  experience  of  seventeen  years  that  a  promise 
from  King  Charles  meant  precisely  nothing  at  all ;  and 


1642] 


THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART 


235 


for  one  other  reason,  which  was  that  the  majority  in  the 
House  of  Commons  were  strict  Puritans,  and  they  were 
so  fully  convinced  that  their  belief  was  the  only  right  one 
that  they  meant  to  compel  the  king  and  the  country  to 
think  just  as  they  thought  in  all  religious  matters,  and  to 
do  just  as  they  did. 

204.  The  two  parties.  Now  that  affairs  had  come  to 
a  point  where  neither  party  would  yield  any  further,  there 
was  nothing  to  do  but  to  fight.     The  king  went  to  Not- 


A   CAVALIER 


A   ROUNDHEAD 


tingham  and  called  upon  all  loyal  subjects  to  join  him. 
Every  man  in  the  kingdom  must  stand  on  one  side  or  the 
other.  The  majority  of  the  men  on  the  king's  side  were 
of  some  rank  and  fortune.  They  were  the  nobles,  the 
clergy,  and  most  of  the  men  of  means  living  in  the 
country.  They  dressed  well  and  rode  well;  indeed,  it 
was  because  of  their  horsemanship  that  the  nickname, 
Cavaliers,  was  given  to  them. 

The  forces  of  the  Puritans  were  quite  in  contrast  with 
these  elegant  gentlemen.  While  there  were  some  among 
them  of  wealth  and  noble  birth,  most  of  them  were  men 
who  lived  on  small  farms  in  the  country  or  kept  stores  in 


236  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1642 

the  city.  Men  of  fashion  wore  long,  curling  hair,  but  the 
Puritans  scorned  any  such  folly,  and  they  had  their  hair  cut 
short.     This  is  why  they  were  nicknamed  Roundheads. 

205.  Civil  War.  It  was  in  1642  that  the  first  fight- 
ing took  place,  and  the  first  real  battle  was  at  Edgehill. 
BdgehiiL  Neither  army  had  had  much  training,  but  most 
1642.  Qf  tjjg  king's  men  were  accustomed  to  riding, 

and  therefore  the  royal  cavalry  was  far  superior  to  the 
undrilled  Puritan  footsoldiers,  and  this  battle  resulted  in 
a  victory  for  the  king.  Indeed,  for  some  little  time  the 
king  was  successful,  and  had  it  not  been  for  one  strong, 
clear-headed  man  among  the  Puritans,  the  ending  of  the 
war  might  have  been  quite  different  from  what  it  was. 

This  man  was  named  Oliver  Cromwell.     He  had  been 

a  member  of  Parliament,  but  had  left  his  seat  to  join  the 

,„     army.     He  saw  at  once  that  it  was  a  mistake  to 
Cromwell's  -' 

."Iron-  pay  low  wages  and  take  every  one  that  wished 
to  become  a  soldier  ;  and  he  set  to  work  to  raise 
a  regiment  that  should  be  of  quite  different  material  from 
the  rest  of  the  parliamentary  army.  He  gave  his  men 
high  wages,  but  he  would  admit  to  his  ranks  only  those 
who  were  of  good  character  and  some  education,  and 
whose  religious  belief  was  like  his  own.  There  was 
neither  swearing  nor  gambling  nor  drinking  in  Cromwell's 
lines.  These  soldiers  were  upright,  honorable  men,  and 
no  other  troops  could  ever  stand  before  them.  Their 
great  fault  was  that  they  could  not  understand  how  any 
one  whose  belief  was  not  like  theirs  could  be  honest  and 
true.  They  abhorred  the  Church  of  England  and  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  they  liked  the  Scotch  Presbyteri- 
ans but  little  better,  for  Cromwell  and  his  men  thought 
that  there  should  be  no  presbyters  to  govern  the  churches, 
but  that  every  congregation  should  stand  alone  and  rule 
itself  in  all  things. 


1643-1646]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  237 

John  Hampden  had  been  killed  in  battle,  and  before 
long  the  command  of  the  whole  army  passed  into  the 
hands  of  O^JLver  Cromwell  and  Sir  Thomas  Fair-  The 
fax,  and  the  men  were  trained  as  nearly  as  Lfag-ue^ani 
possible  like  Cromwell's  first  regiment  of  "  Iron-  Covenant." 
sides,"  as  they  were  called.  Before  the  war  fairly  broke 
out,  Charles  had  asked  Scotland  to  aid  him,  but  that 
country  refused.  Parliament  now  asked  the  Scotch  to 
unite  with  the  English  army  against  the  king ;  and  the 
Scotch  agreed  on  condition  that  the  Presbyterian  form  of 
worship  should  be  adopted  in  the  English  church.  This 
did  not  please  Cromwell,  but  finally  a  paper  was  drawn 
up  called  the  "  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,"  and  a 
union  was  formed. 

For  two  years  the  war  went  on.     Then  Prince  Rupert, 
who  commanded  the  royal  forces,  was  defeated  ^larston 
at  Marston  Moor.     Another  year,  and  the  king  Moor, 
suffered  another  defeat  at    Naseby.     His   pri-  Nasety. 
vate  papers  were    captured,  and    then    Parlia-  ^^^' 
ment  knew  that  Charles  had  been  trying  to  hire  foreign 
soldiers  to  come  to  England  to  fight  his  subjects. 

So  many  of  the  army  felt  that  they  were  fighting  for 
their  religious  belief  that  peace  might  possibly  have  been 
brought  about  if  Charles  had  been  willing  that  charies 
Presbyterianism  should  become  the  national  form  JJ^^^*^" 
of  worship.     This  he  positively  refused.     De-  scotch, 
feated  as  he  had  been  in  one  battle  after  another,  he  did 
not  give  up  hope  of  overthrowing  the  power  of  Cromwell 
and  his  Independents,  if  he  could  only  increase  the  quar- 
rel between  them  and  the  Scotch  Presbyterians,   ^^gggo^gj^ 
Therefore,  he  disguised  himself,  slipped  away  surrender 

01  1  J        J         ^1/     Charles. 

to  the   Scotch   camp,  and   surrendered.      Ihe 

Scotch  thought  that  now  he  would  accept  their  terms 

and  agree  to  establish  Presbyterianism,  but  he  refused. 


238  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1646-1649 

Parliament  had  long  been  owing  the  Scotch  army,  and 
now,  on  payment  of  the  debt,  Charles  was  given  over  to 
that  body.  « 

Cromwell  and  his  Independents  were  as  ready  to  oppose 
the  Presbyterian  Parliament  as  they  had  been  to  oppose 
the  king.  They  made  a  sudden  attack  upon  the  castle  in 
which  Charles  was  confined  and  captured  him,  by  no 
means  against  his  will.  Before  long,  Charles  escaped  to 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  there,  though  he  was  really  a 
prisoner,  hfe  tried  to  plan  some  way  to  outwit  the  Inde- 
pendents, just  as  King  John  in  that  same  place  had  tried 
to  find  a  way  to  outwit  the  barons. 

206.  "Pride's  Purge."  Soon  the  army  discovered 
that  Parliament  was  trying  to  form  a  union  of  themselves, 
the  Scotch,  and  the  king.  Colonel  Pride  was  sent  with  a 
regiment  of  soldiers  to  thrust  out  of  the  House  the  one 
hundred  and  forty-three  Presbyterian  members.  This 
act  was  known  as  "  Pride's  Purge,"  and  it  was  certainly  as 
arbitrary  and  tyrannical  a  deed  as  any  that  the  king  had 
ever  committed. 

207.  Execution  of  Charles.  January  30,  1649.  The 
rest  of  the  Parliament  decided  to  try  the  king  for  "high 
treason  and  other  high  crimes."  Before  this,  kings  had 
been  deposed,  or  forced  to  flee  to  save  their  lives,  or  had 
even  been  murdered,  but  to  call  a  reigning  sovereign  into 
court  and  order  him  to  defend  himself  was  an  entirely 
new  idea.  The  king  answered  simply  that  he  had  nothing 
to  say,  since  the  court  before  which  he  was  to  be  tried 
had  no  lawful  authority.  He  was  condemned,  and  ten 
days  later  he  was  executed. 

It  is  hard  to  think  that  a  reasonable  man  could  honestly 
Charles's  believe  that  it  was  right  for  him  to  be  truthful 
beuei.  with  some  people  and  untruthful  with  others ; 

but  so  far  as  one  person  may  judge  of  another,  this  was 


1649] 


THE   HOUSE   OF    STUART 


239 


the  sincere  belief  of  Charles  L,  king  of  England.     For 
twenty-four   years  the   country  had   suffered   from  his 


TRIAL    OF    CHARLES    I. 


arrogance  and  treachery,  and  yet  his  last  words  on  titie 
scaffold,  pronounced  with  calm  dignity  and  with  every 
appearance  of  sincerity,  were,  "  I  am  a  martyr  to  the 
people." 


240  ENGLAND'S   STORY      \  [1649 

For  eight  centuries  the  English  had  been  ruled  by  a 
king.  It  is  no  wonder  that  they  were  aghast  at  this 
An  anxious  public  execution  of  their  sovereign  and  the 
people.  immediate  declaration  of  Parliament  that  who- 
ever should  venture,  without  the  authority  of  that  body, 
to  name  any  person  as  king  should  be  dealt  with  as  a 
traitor.  Charles  was  hardly  buried  before  there  began  to 
be  rumors  of  wonderful  cures  that  had  been  brought 
about  by  the  touch  of  a  handkerchief  wet  with  his  blood. 
Many  a  man  had  strange  dreams  and  visions  of  evil  to 
come.  Many  a  man  felt  that  England  without  a  sove- 
reign was  a  ship  without  a  rudder,  and  feared  exceedingly 
lest  some  terrible  judgment  should  be  visited  upon  the 
land  that  was  stained  with  the  blood  of  her  own  anointed 
king. 

SUMMARY 

The  events  of  the  last  century  had  made  men  think,  and 
as  they  were  governed  by  a  king  who  required  unreasoning 
obedience  to  his  treacherous  and  arbitrary  rule,  a  clash  was 
inevitable.  In  his  marriage  agreement  Charles  deceived 
both  Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants.  He  collected  "  ship 
money  "  and  other  illegal  taxes,  and  revived  "  monopolies  " 
and  the  Star  Chamber.  He  signed  the  "  Petition  of  Rights," 
but  refused  to  allow  discussion  of  abuses,  and  would  call  no 
Parliament  for  eleven  years.  The  Puritans  suffered  especially 
from  the  Court  of  High  Commissions,  and  finally  a  company 
sailed  for  America  and  founded  Boston.  An  attempt  to  force 
the  Prayer  Book  upon  the  Scotch  set  Scotland  into  a  ferment, 
and  to  obtain  funds  to  suppress  the  rebellion,  the  "Long 
Parliament"  was  summoned.  Revolt  against  injustice  and 
oppression  produced  uprisings  and  massacres  in  Ireland. 
The  "  Grand  Remonstrance  "  was  drawn  up.  Charles  at- 
tempted to  arrest  members  of  Parliament  for  their  free 
speech  in  the  House. 


i649]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  241 

The  deceitfulness  of  the  king  and  the  narrowness  of  the 
Puritans  prevented  any  compromise,  and  civil  war  followed. 
Under  Cromwell's  leadership  the  Roundheads  were  success- 
ful. Charles  surrendered  to  the  Scotch,  and  was  given  by 
them  into  the  hands  of  a  Presbyterian  Parliament.  Crom- 
well and  his  Independents  captured  the  king.  "  Pride's 
Purge  "  expelled  the  Presbyterians  from  the  House,  and  the 
Independents  who  remained  condemned  Charles  to  death. 

The  Commonwealth  and  Cromv^ell 
1649-1660 

208.  England  governed  by  the  Commons.  The  real 
pov^er  lay  in  the  hands  of  Cromvv^ell  with  the  army  to 
support  him,  but  the  little  handful  of  men  that  were  left 
in  Parliament  went  on  making  laws  for  the  whole  country. 
They  had  already  decreed  that  there  should  be  no  king, 
and  now  they  declared  that  there  was  no  need  of  a  House 
of  Lords,  that  the  House  of  Commons  could  govern  the 
nation. 

Perhaps  the  chief  reason  why  there  was  anything  like 
a  peaceful  government  in  England  during  the  next  eleven 
years  was  because  there  were  so  many  different  Dinerent 
parties,  and  because  the  army  under  Cromwell  J*"^®*- 
was  stronger  than  any  one  of  them.  There  were  Presby- 
terians and  Independents,  and  there  were  "  Levelers," 
who  wished  to  have  no  titles  and  no  differences  of  rank 
or  political  power.  There  were  men  who  wished  to  give 
every  one  an  equal  share  in  whatever  wealth  was  in  the 
kingdom,  and  there  were  people  who  had  no  plan  to  sug- 
gest, but  who  were  against  everything  that  any  one  else 
proposed.  There  were  many  who  had  been  royalists  and 
had  stood  by  the  king  from  the  beginning,  and  there 
were  others  who  had  net  approved  of  Charles,  but  had 
wished   his  son  to  be  king.     No  two  of  these  parties 


242 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1649-1650 


OLIVER   CROMWELL 


would  unite,  and  therefore 
Cromwell  and  his  army 
were  in  power. 

209.  Prince  Charles 
seeks  the  throne.  Over 
in  Holland  was  King 
Charles's  oldest  son,  who 
was  also  named  -Charles. 
He  was  a  young  man  of 
nineteen,  and  was  the 
hope  of  the  royalists. 
Little  could  be  done  for 
him  in  England,  since 
Cromwell  and  the  invin- 
cible army  were  there, 
but  in  Scotland  and  Ire- 
land there  was  a  better  chance,  and  the  royalists  of  both 
countries  had  proclaimed  him  as  their  king.  Scotland 
would  stand  by  him  if  he  would  support  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  Ireland  would  help  him  if  he  would  promise 
freedom  to  the  Roman  Catholics  and  would  give  the  island 
a  Parliament  of  its  own,  like  that  of  Scotland. 

The  one  fact  that  we  Know  of  this  young  Charles  that 
shows  any  earnestness  of  character  is  that  he  did  make  a 
Prince  great  effort  to  save  his  father's  life,  and  sent 
chooses  the  Parliament  a  blank  paper  with  his  name  and 
Irish.  seal,  for  them  to  write  what  conditions  they 

would  if  only  his  father  might  be  spared.  Aside  from 
this,  he  shows  himself  only  as  a  gay,  trivial,  idle  young 
fellow ;  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  between  the  offers  of 
the  two  countries  he  shuddered  at  the  strictness  of  the 
Scotch  Presbyterians  and  chose  the  Irish  for  his  friends. 
Cromwell  and  his  army  were  sent  at  once  to  make  it 
clear  to  the  Irish  that  loyalty  to  the  Roman  Catholic 


1650-1651]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  243 

church  and  devotion  to  any  one  claiming  the  title  of  king 
were  henceforth  to  be  regarded  as  the  worst  of  crimes. 
For   nine   months   there   was   slaughter   after 

Vengeance 
slaughter  in  Ireland ;    Irish  or  English,  it  mat-  of  the  Com- 

tered  not,  wherever  either  royalism  or  love  for  "^°^"^®*i*^- 
the  Church  of  Rome  had  found  a  stronghold,  there  was 
devastation  and  remorseless  massacre.  Cromwell  even 
attempted  to  drive  all  landowners  in  Ireland  to  the  north- 
west, and  to  give  their  land  to  English  settlers.  Such  a 
barbarous  wrong  as  this  it  would  have  taken  centuries  of 
kindness  to  undo. 

Charles  had  now  no  chance  in  Ireland.  His  only  hope 
was  in  Scotland,  so  thither  he  went ;  and  now  he  forgot 
his  promises  to  the  Irish  and  agreed  to  become  prince 
a  Presbyterian,  and  to  do  all  that  he  could  to  Si^s^fo^tno 
suppress  the  Roman  Catholic  church  and  also  scotch, 
the  Church  of  England.  Cromwell  pursued,  and  soon 
there  was  a  battle  at  Dunbar.  The  royalists  were  beaten, 
but  nevertheless,  they  carried  the  young  prince  to  Scone, 
and  even  without  their  famous  stone,  they  crowned  him 
as  Charles  II. 

In  a  few  months  the  terrible  Cromwell  appeared.  The 
Scotch  with  Charles  had  come  over  the  border  into  Eng- 
land, for  they  thought  that  English  royalists  ^,^^3^^^!^ 
would  crowd  their   ranks.      They  were  much  ofworces- 
disappointed,  for  few  came  to  join  them,  and 
worst  of  all,  there  was  a  battle  at  Worcester  in  which 
nearly  all  the  Scotch  army  was  cut  down. 

210.  Flight  of  Charles.  The  only  hope  for  Charles 
was  to  flee  across  the  water.  After  the  battle  he 
contrived  to  slip  away  into  a  narrow  road,  and  then 
he  galloped  all  night  long.  In  the  morning  he  disguised 
himself,  and  with  a  young  ''country  fellow"  as  guide  set 
out  to  walk  to  the  Severn.    All  day  they  were  in  the 


244  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1651 

woods,  tired  and  hungry,  and  glad  enough  to  get  some 
bread  and  cheese  at  night.  As  it  grew  dark,  Charles's 
guide  appealed  to  a  gentleman  to  hide  his  companion. 

"  I  '11  not  risk  my  neck  for  any  man,  save  he  be  the 
king  himself,"  said  the  gentleman  stoutly. 

"  But  this  is  the  king,"  whispered  the  young  fellow ; 
and  then  the  royal  fugitive  and  his  companion  were 
safely  stowed  away  in  a  barn.  The  next  day  Charles 
went  on  farther  and  met  a  royalist  officer  called  Colonel 
In  the  oak  Careless.  He  suggested  that  the  best  place 
tree.  for  the  king  was  not  in  the  woods,  where  every 

one  was  looking  for  him,  but  in  a  great  oak  tree  in  an  open 
plain.  So  into  the  tree  the  king  and  the  colonel  went, 
and  there  they  stayed  all  day  long,  peering  out  between 
the  branches  and  catching  glimpses  now  and  then  of  the 
soldiers  of  Parliament  who  were  searching  in  the  forest 
for  the  fugitive.  After  a  long  walk  the  poor  young  king 
arrived  at  the  next  house  where  he  ventured  to  rest, 
with  his  feet  bruised  and  blistered ;  but  after  he  had  had 
food  and  rest,  he  cheered  up.  ^'  If  I  only  had  ten  thou- 
sand good  loyal  soldiers,"  said  he,  "I  would  soon  drive 
all  the  rogues  out  of  my  kingdom." 

Charles  was  next  disguised  as  a  serving-man,  and  for 

many  miles  he  attended  a  loyal  lady  and  her  cousin.   His 

horse  lost  a  shoe,  and  when  the  servant  said  to 

The  prince  '  , 

asaserv-  the  smith,  "What  news  is  there.-*"  the  smith 
^  ^^'  answered,  "  None,  for  that  rogue  Charles  Stuart 
has  not  been  taken  yet."  "The  fellojv  deserves  hang- 
ing," said  Charles  soberly,  and  the  smith  gave  him  a 
hearty  slap  on  the  shoulder  and  said,  "  You  're  an  honest 
man,  that 's  what  you  are." 

So  Charles  went  on  in  one  disguise  and  another  till  he 
The  prince  came  to  the  sea,  and  then  over  the  water  to 
In  safety.      Rouen.    He  and  his  friend  were  so  shabby  that 


i653] 


THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART 


245 


the  inn-keeper  hesitated  to  let  them  into  his  house,  but 
Charles  was  in  France,  and  he  was  safe.  For  forty-four 
days  he  had  been  in  the  utmost  danger,  and  through  it 
all  he  had  been  brave  and  cheerful.     Never  did  a  man 


SEAL   OF   THE    COMMONWEALTH,   SHOWING    PARLIAMENT 

% 

have  better  friends,  for  though  it  was  called  treason  to 
help  him  and  there  was  a  reward  of  one  thousand  pounds 
to  any  one  that  would  give  him  up,  not  one  of  the  many 
that  knew  the  secret  would  betray  him. 

211.  Cromwell  dissolves  Parliament.  Four  years 
had  passed  since  the  execution  of  Charles  I.,  and  still  the 
little  handful  of  men  made  laws  for  the  nation.  Crom- 
well believed  that  Parliament  ought  to  represent  the 
country  somewhat  more  generally,  but  those  who  were 
already  members  wished  to  be  free  to  retain  their  seats 
as  long  as  they  chose,  and  when  vacancies  did  occur,  to 
fill  them  with  such  men  only  as  they  were  willing  to 
receive. 

Word  was  brought  to  Cromwell  that  a  law  to  this  effect 
was  to  be  made,  and  he  went  to  Parliament  with  his 
soldiers.  He  thought  it  the  height  of  tyranny  when 
Charles  I.  came  to  the  House  and  attempted  to  seize 


246  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1653 

five  men,  but  now  he  himself  went  to  the  House,  and 
when  this  law  was  about  to  be  passed,  he  burst  into  a 
storm  of  rage. 

"You  care  nothing  for  the  public  good,"  said  he. 
"The  Lord  is  done  with  you  ;  He  has  better  men  to  carry 
on  His  work."  Then  he  strode  "  up  and  down  the  House 
like  a  madman  "  and  stamped  on  the  floor,  and  shouted, 
"  You  are  no  Parliament,  I  say  you  are  no  Parliament. 
There  sits  a  drunkard,"  and  he  pointed  to  one.  "  May  the 
Lord  deliver  me  from  you,"  he  said  to  another.  "I  will 
put  an  end  to  your  sitting.     Call  them  in  ;  call  them  in." 

In  came  "two  files  of  musketeers,"  and  every  member 
of  Parliament  was  driven  from  the  House.  "  You  have 
forced  me  to  do  it,"  said  Cromwell  sadly,  his  wrath  all 
gone.  "  I  have  sought  the  Lord  night  and  day  that  He 
would  rather  slay  me  than  put  me  upon  the  doing  of  this 
work."  Then  he  ordered  the  House  to  be  locked.  Th? 
French  minister  reported  to  his  government  that  some 
one  wrote  on  the  door,  "  This  house  is  now  to  let  unfur- 
nished." ^ 

212.  Cromwell  as  Lord  Protector.  Cromwell  and 
his  officers  appointed  a  Council,  of  which  he  was  presi- 
dent. They  obtained  from  various  Independent  ministers 
lists  of  men  who  seemed  to  them  fit  to  sit  in  Parliament, 
and  then  Cromwell  and  his  Council  chose  among  them. 
One  member  was  named  Praise-God  Barebone,  —  for  the 
Puritans  were  fond  of  taking  some  Bible  phrase  to  use 
instead  of  their  own  names,  —  and  therefore  the  royalists 
"Bare-  called  this  assembly  "  Barebone's  Parliament." 
Pariia-  ^^  ^°°"  adjourned,  but  a  few  days  later  the 
ment"  Council  "  prayed  Cromwell  to  accept  the  office 
of  Lord  Protector."  He  went  to  live  in  King  Charles's 
palace,  and  was  far  more  arbitrary  than  the  king  had  ever 
been.     There  was  a  great  difference,  however,  in  their 


i653]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  247 

arbitrariness,  for  Charles  meant  to  have  his  own  way 
because  it  was  his  way  and  no  one  had  a  right  to  oppose 
him ;  while  Cromwell  meant  to  have  his  way  because  he 
felt  sure  that  it  was  best  for  the  country. 

It  is  hard  to  say  what  would  have  been  the  result  if, 
after  the  death  of  Charles,  there  had  not  been  a  strong 
hand  to  rule  the  nation.     Ever  since  the  days  of 

-  __       ,  Naval  glory 

Elizabeth,  the  power  and  reputation  of  England  of  the  Pro- 
had  been  constantly  sinking  ;  with  Cromwell  at  ®**  ° 
the  head,  the  old  glory  of  the  land  returned.  Perhaps 
the  greatest  naval  exploit  of  the  Protectorate  occurred 
during  the  war  with  Holland.  The  Dutch  were  carrying 
goods  to  and  fro  for  sale  among  different  countries,  and 
this  was  a  great  loss  to  England,  for  her  merchants  were 
almost  driven  out  of  the  carrying  trade.  Two  years  after 
the  king's  execution,  "  Navigation  Laws  "  had  been  passed 
in  England,  forbidding  England  or  any  English  colony  to 


MEDAL    COMMEMORATING   VICTORY    OVER    THE    DUTCH 

import  or  export  goods  in  Dutch  vessels.  Of  course 
Holland  was  aroused,  and  all  the  more  readily  did  she 
sympathize  with  royalists  who  made  that  land  the  centre 
of  their  plots  against  Cromwell's  government.     War  fol- 


248  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1658 

lowed.  The  Dutch  commander  nailed  a  broom  to  his 
masthead  to  signify  that  he  had  swept  the  Channel  clean 
England  of  English  vessels ;  but  it  was  not  long  before 
g^sDun-  j^g^  ^QQ^  ^^g  swept  from  the  Channel,  and,  more- 
1658.  over,  Dunkirk  in  Flanders  fell  into  the  hands 

of  the  English,  —  a  thing  that  caused  great  rejoicing,  for 
they  felt  as  if  they  need  no  longer  lament  the  loss  of 
Calais,  which  had  so  sorely  troubled  Queen  Mary. 

England  was  again  a  great  power,  and  in  Cromwell's 
speech  to  his  first  Parliament,  he  said  :  "  I  dare  say  there 
Cromwell     ^^  ^^^  ^  nation  in  Europe  but  is  very  willing  to 

protects  the  ask  a  good  understanding:  with  you."  Crom- 
Waldenses.  o  y 

well's  favorite  plan  was  that  England  should  act 

as  the  protector  of  Protestants  all  over  Europe.  The 
Waldenses,  a  quiet,  humble  people  who  lived  among  the 
valleys  of  the  Alps,  had  been  terribly  persecuted  because 
they  would  not  give  up  their  religion.  They  contrived  to 
appeal  to  .Cromwell,  and  he  sent  straightway  an  emphatic 
message  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy  that  the  Waldenses  must 
be  allowed  to  practise  their  religion  as  they  would.  The 
duke  had  no  wish  to  contend  with  Cromwell's  "  Iron- 
sides," and  from  that  moment  the  Waldenses  were  left 
in  peace. 

One  of  the  most  earnest  of  Cromwell's  supporters  was 
John  a  great  poet,  John  Milton.     He  wrote  a  strong 

MUton.  ^^^  beautiful  sonnet  about  the  sufferings  of  the 
Waldenses,  beginning :  — 

"  Avenge,  O  Lord,  thy  slaughtered  saints,  whose  bones 
Lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold." 

Save  for  a  few  sonnets,  Milton  wrote  for  more  than 
twenty  years  hardly  a  line  of  poetry,  but  gave  all  his 
talent  to  the  service  of  his  native  land,  acting  as  Crom- 
well's secretary,  and  issuing  fierce  pamphlets  in  defence 


1653-1658]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART 


249 


rule     in 
exceed- 

Gromwell's 
UberaUty. 


JOHN   MILTON 


of  the  Puritans.  He  knew  that  the  great  amount  of 
work  that  he  was  doing  was  ruining  his  eyesight,  but  he 
went  on,  feeHng  that  he 
must  do  everything  in 
his  power  for  his  coun- 
try ;  and  when  he  was 
free,  he  dictated  his 
great  poem,  "Paradise 
Lost,"  in  total  blind- 
ness. 

Cromwell's 
England  was 
ingly  strict, 
but  he  was 
far  more  liberal  than 
any  one  would  have  ex- 
pected. Edward  I.  had 
banished  the  Jews,  and  Cromwell  allowed  them  to  return. 
He  was  kind  to  the  Quakers,  whom  many  people  on  both 
sides  of  the  sea  looked  upon  as  enemies  to  church  and 
state.  He  was  the  first  to  think  of  sending  missionaries 
to  the  Indians  of  America.  The  first  one  that  came  was 
the  earnest  John  Eliot,  who  translated  the  Bible  into  the 
language  of  the  Indians  of  Massachusetts. 

213.  Dissatisfaction.  It  was  a  good  government,  but 
it  was  arbitrary,  and  the  people  of  England  were  not 
satisfied  to  have  power  so  absolute  in  the  hands  of  any 
one  man.  Then,  too,  there  were  very  strict  laws  forbid- 
ding many  things  that  a  great  part  of  the  nation  looked 
upon  as  harmless.  The  Puritans  called  it  wicked  to  play 
chess,  to  dance  around  a  May-pole,  to  go  fox-hunting,  or 
to  eat  mince-pie  at  Christmas.  As  for  the  theatres,  they 
had  all  been  closed  in  1642,  for  the  Puritans  could  see  no 
difference  between  the  noble  plays  of  Shakespeare  and 


250  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1653-1658 

the  vulgar  ones  in  which  King  James  delighted,  so  they 
were  all  condemned  together.  People  who  did  not  go  to 
church  were  fined,  and  people  who  went  to  a  distant 
church  when  there  was  one  at  hand  were  fined. 

214.  Puritan  extremes.  •  One  could  easily  forgive 
the  Puritans  for  refusing  to  play  chess  or  for  spending 
Christmas  in  fasting  rather  than  in  feasting;  but  it  is 
not  so  easy  to  overlook  their  destruction  of  the  fine  old 
monuments  and  statues  and  stained  glass  windows  in  the 
churches,  and  their  stabling  horses  in  the  beautiful  cathe- 
drals, and  marching  in  with  axes  to  destroy  the  rich  old 
carvings.  The  one  excuse  is  that  they  firmly  believed 
they  were  doing  what  was  right  and  pleasing  to  God. 
Moreover,  when  Charles  I.  was  dead  and  they  were  in 
power,  many  joined  them  who  wished  only  to  be  on  the 
popular  side ;  and  these  new  converts  were  much  more 
inclined  to  go  to  extremes  than  were  the  original  members 
of  the  party.  The  Puritans  certainly  did  some  absurd 
things,  but  they  were  true,  earnest,  honest,  straightfor- 
ward, self-sacrificing  men  with  a  sincere  love  of  liberty,  — 
only  they  thought  that  their  own  way  was  the  one  true 
way  of  liberty.  • 

215.  Cromwell's  last  years.  After  being  so  brave 
and  so  determined  all  his  life,  Cromwell's  courage  seemed 
to  fail  him  during  his  last  years.  He  had  met  thousands 
of  armed  men  without  a  shadow  of  fear,  but  now  he 
feared  every  shadow.  He  wore  a  shirt  of  mail  because 
he  was  afraid  of  being  stabbed,  and  he  was  so  alarmed 
lest  some  one  should  break  into  his  bed-chamber  that  he 
rarely  slept  in  the  same  room  for  two  consecutive  nights. 
At  last  mortal  illness  came  upon  him.  When  he  was 
made  Protector  it  was  decreed  that  he  should  decide  who 
was  to  follow  him;  but  he  had  named  no  one,  and  the 
Puritans  knew  not  who  could  succeed  him.     Some  of 


1658-1660]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  251 

the  royalists  were  rejoiced  that  he  who  had  murdered 
their  king,  as  they  said,  and  usurped  his  throne  would 
hold  the  place  but  little  longer.  Others,  longing  as 
eagerly  as  they  for  the  return  of  a  lawful  sovereign,  could 
but  dread  the  change  and  overthrow,  and  the  uncertain- 
ties of  the  days  to  come. 

216.  CromweU's  successor.  Soon  there  came  a  night 
when  all  the  land  knew  that  Cromwell  was  dying.  He 
was  urged  to  say  who  should  succeed  him.  In  this  last 
hour  love  for  his  son  and  a  wish  that  one  of  his  own 
name  should  carry  on  the  work  that  he  had  begun  were 
in  control,  and  he  whispered,  "  Richard."  He  was  buried 
—  for  a  little  while  —  in  Westminster  Abbey,  and  Rich- 
ard Cromwell  became  Protector  in  his  father's  stead. 

It  would  have  taken  a  firm  hand  to  rule  in  place  of 
fromwell.  Richard  was  a  Puritan,  but  he  had  no  sym- 
pathy with  those  of  his  party  who  went  to  Richard's 
extremes,  and  he  was  not  strong  enough  to  ™^®- 
suppress  them  as  his  father  had  done.  He  was  kind  and 
gentle  and  good-hearted,  but  he  could  not  govern  a  nation. 
There  was  only  one  power  in  the  land,  and  that  was  the 
army.  The  army  was  made  up  in  great  degree  of  Inde- 
pendents, and  they  wished  matters  to  remain  as  they 
were ;  but  the  Presbyterians  and  the  Cavaliers  thought 
that  anything  was  better  than  to  let  the  army  hold  all  the 
power. 

217.  Calls  issued  for  a  "  free  "  Parliament.  No  one 
kTiew  just  what  to  do,  but  the  matter  soon  settled  itself,  for 
the  army  requested  Richard  to  resign.  He  yielded  at  once 
and  apparently  without  the  least  objection,  and  people 
called  him  "  Tumble-down  Dick."  The  army  General 
soon  ceased  to  be  united,  and  General  Monk,  '*°^- 
who  was  the  most  powerful  officer,  came  with  his  men 
from  Scotland.    Every  one  looked  to  him  to  be  the  leader. 


252  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1660 

He  was  a  quiet,  silent  man,  but  when  he  had  once  made 
up  his  mind,  he  did  not  change.  The  Common  Council 
of  London  told  him  that  the  people  would  pay  no  more 
taxes  that  were  decreed  by  a  limited  Parliament  like  the 
one  then  in  session.  Still  Monk  hesitated.  At  last  he 
came  to  a  decision,  and  he  wrote  a  bold,  firm  letter  to 
that  body,  bidding  them  issue  calls  for  a  "free"  Parlia- 
ment, that  is,  for  a  Parliament  elected  by  the  nation,  and 
not  by  the  Puritans  alone. 

SUMMARY 

The  period  began  with  a  small  Presbyterian  House  of 
Commons  making  laws  for  the  nation,  and  with  the  chief 
power  in  the  hands  of  Cromwell,  supported  by  the  army. 
Prince  Charles,  seeking  first  the  aid  of  Ireland  and  then  that 
of  Scotland,  attempted  in  vain  to  recover  his  father's  throne. 
Finally,  Cromwell  dissolved  Parliament  by  force,  and  the  land 
was  ruled  by  a  Council  that  soon  made  him  Lord  Protector. 

His  methods  of  ruling  were  often  arbitrary,  but  he  did 
what  he  really  believed  was  for  the  good  of  the  land.  He 
restored  the  naval  glory  of  England,  protected  the  Waldenses, 
allowed  the  Jews  to  return,  and  sent  missionaries  to  the 
American  Indians.  His  rule  was  good,  and  England  pros- 
pered ;  but  the  reaction  against  Puritan  narrowness  set  in, 
and  not  long  after  Cromwell's  death,  his  son  and  successor 
was  forced  to  resign  the  position  of  Protector,  and  calls  were 
issued  for  a  "  free  "  Parliament. 

26.  Charles  II.     1660-1685  , 

218.  The  "Restoration."  Parliament  again  consisted 
of  a  House  of  Lords  and  a  House  of  Commons,  and 
almost  the  first  thing  that  they  did  was  to  send  to  Hol- 
land to  ask  Charles  to  return.  They  seemed  to  lose  all 
idea  of  prudence,  for  they  did  not  require  him  to  make 
any  definite  promises  about  what  he  would  do  after  he 


i66o]  THE   HOUSE   OF  STUART  253 

had  become  king  of  England.  He  merely  made  a  kind 
of  general  statement  that  he  would  leave  all  troublesome 
questions  to  Parliament. 

Great  preparations  were  made  to  receive  the  king. 
The  flagship  of  the  fleet  that  was  to  bring  him  and  his 
brother  James  to  England  was  named  the  "  Naseby,"  in 


THE    ROYAL   CHARLES 


honor  of  one  of  Cromwell's  victories  over  Charles  I. 
That  would  never  do,  so  when  they  sailed  away  from 
Holland,  the  name  was  changed  to  the  "  Charles." 
There  were  trumpets  and  drums  and  flags  and  hand- 
some clothes,  and  the  English  had  not  forgotten  to  send 
a  portmanteau  full  of  good  yellow  gold  and  with  it  a  bill 
of  exchange  for  five  times  as  much.  One  of  the  rhymers 
of  the  day  wrote  :  — 

"  At  length  by  wonderful  impulse  of  fate, 
The  people  call  him  home  to  help  the  state ; 
And  what  is  more,  they  send  him  money,  too, 
And  clothe  him  all,  from  head  to  foot,  anew." 

Up  and  down  the  deck  the  king  paced,  telling  of  his 
escape  after  the  battle  of  Worcester,  and  smiling  grimly 


254  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1660 

when  he  spoke  of  the  coarse  shoes  that  had  hurt  his  feet 
so  badly. 

When  the  royal  company  landed  in  London,  there  was 
the  merriest  time  that  can  be  imagined.  The  streets 
Charles's  were  crowded  with  citizens  and  nobles.  The 
welcome,  mayor  presented  the  king  with  "  a  very  rich 
Bible,"  and  Charles  thanked  him,  saying,  "It  is  the 
thing  that  I  love  above  all  things  in  the  world."  There 
were  flowers  and  banners  and  wine  and  music  and  rich 
clothes  and  shouts  of  joy ;  and  so  it  was  that  Charles  II. 
returned  to  the  throne  of  his  father.  He  took  all  this  de- 
votion as  his  rightful  due  and  said*  with  a  laugh,  "  It  must 
have  been  my  own  fault  that  I  did  not  come  before,  for  I 
find  no  one  but  declares  that  he  is  glad  to  see  me." 

Charles  was  accompanied  by  a  long  retinue  of  people, 
and  there  was  also  "a  dog  that  the  king  loved,"  and  he 
The  royal  came  with  all  honor  in  a  boat  with  Mr.  Pepys, 
^°^'  the  secretary  to  the  admiralty.     It  was  probably 

this  same  dog  that  was  advertised  as  lost  some  three 
weeks  later ;  and  the  next  week  another  advertisement 
appeared  which  is  so  like  the  king  that  it  is  thought  he 
must  have  written  it.     It  ends  :  — 

"Will  iney  never  leave  robbing  his  majesty.?  Must 
he  not  keep  a  dog  ?  This  dog's  place  (though  better 
than  some  imagine)  is  the  only  place  which  nobody  offers 
to  beg." 

219.  Punishment  of  the  regicides.  The  first  busi- 
ness of  Parliament  was  to  punish  the.people  that  had  been 
concerned  in  the  condemnation  of  Charles  I.  Chief  among 
them  were  the  "regicides,"  as  those  men  were  called 
who  had  acted  as  judges  when  he  was  tried.  Thirteen 
were  executed.^  Three  of  them  had  escaped  to  America, 
and  there  is  a  tradition  that  years  afterwards,  when  the 
^  Green's  SAori  History  of  the  English  People, 


i66o]  THE   HOUSE  OF   STUART  255 

Indians  attacked  Hadley  in  Massachusetts  and  the  set- 
tlers knew  not  what  to  do,  suddenly  an  old  man  with 
long,  gray  hair  and  beard,  who  proved  to  be  one  of  the 
regicides,  was  seen  in  the  midst  of  the  frightened  people. 
He  took  command  like  one  who  knew  how  to  rule,  routed 
the  Indians,  and  saved  the  little  colony. 

One  piece  of  parliamentary  revenge  was  most  dis- 
graceful. The  body  of  Cromwell  was  taken  from  West- 
minster Abbey  where  it  had  been  laid,  hanged  in  chains, 
beheaded,  and  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  gallows.  Even 
worse  than  that,  the  bones  of  his  wife  and  his  daughter 
were  dug  up  and  thrown  into  a  great  pit. 

220.  Devotion  of  Parliament.  Parliament  could  not 
do  enough  for  the  new  king.  They  voted  him  so  large 
an  income  that  he  was  far  more  independent  than  Eliaa- 
beth  had  ever  been  ;  and  when  he  came  to  be  crowned, 
people  went  wild  with  delight.  Of  course  the  "The  royal 
story  of  the  oak  tree  had  been  told  over  and  °^'" 
over,  and  now  in  memory  of  it  a  great  arch  was  built 
in  London  for  the  king  and  all  the  long  procession  to 
walk  under.  The  keystone  of  the  arch  was  a  portrait 
of  Charles  in  his  royal  robes,  and  behind  him  was  an 
oak  tree  bearing  crowns  and  sceptres  instead  of  leaves 
and  acorns.  Colonel  Careless,  who  had 
spent  a  long  day  in  the  tree  with  the 
king  when  Cromwell's  soldiers  were 
searching  for  him,  was  given  the  right 
to  bear  a  coat  of  arms  consisting  of  an 
oak-leaf  garland  in  which  a  sword  and 
sceptre  were  crossed.  Charles  also 
asked  the  Colonel  to  change  "  Care-  "oYoH^L^RHLHsr 
less  "  to  "  Carlos,"  the  Spanish  form  of 
Charles,  so  that  it  might  be  nearly  like  his  own  name. 
The  king's  birthday  was  May  29,  and  it  became  the  cus- 


256  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1660 

torn  to  call  it  "  Oak-apple  Day."  Boys  would  go  to  the 
woods  at  dawn  to  bring  home  branches  of  oak  trees,  each 
trying  to  carry  a  larger  branch  than  the  others.  They 
used  to  say :  — 

"  The  royal  oak,  it  was  the  tree 
That  saved  his  royal  majesty." 

221.    Charles's   character.     It    is  a  great   pity   that 
Charles  was   not  worthy  of  all  this  adoration,  but  he 

cared  for"  nothing 
except  a  gay  time. 
All  the  old  amuse- 
ments were  re- 
stored, and  the 
whole  nation 
seemed  to  give  it- 
self up  to  merri- 
ment. If  he  had 
wished  for  innocent 
"good  times,"  that 
would  have  been 
a  different  matter, 
but  he  was  shame- 
less and  immoral 
in  his  sports.  Dis- 
solute women  were 
CHARLES  II.  given    high    titles, 

and  the  king  sur- 
rounded himself  with  the  most  profligate  companions. 
Any  one  looking  on  would  have  thought  that  the  whole 
court  gloried  in  being  as  wicked  as  possible.  Charles 
allowed  his  favorites  to  make  all  sorts  of  jests  about 
him,  and  one  wrote  what  he  pretended  was  the  king's 
epitaph  :  — 


1660-1670]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  257 

"  Here  lies  our  sovereign  lord,  the  king, 
Whose  word  no  man  relies  on ; 
Who  never  says  a  foolish  thing, 
Nor  never  does  a  wise  one." 

The  king  replied,  "  True,  because  my  words  are  my  own, 
and  my  acts  are  my  minister's"  —  and  he  seemed  to 
think  that  to  get  the  better  of  a  courtier  in  a  repartee 
was  all  that  could  be  asked  of  a  king. 

At  first  the  nation  sympathized  with  his  merriment. 
,^^   The  years  had  been  so  grave  and  gloomy  that  it  was  cer- 
'^^  tainly  a  relief  to  have  a  king  who  was  good-humored  and 
\^    witty ;  but  people  soon  began  to  realize  that  more  than 
\    wit  and  agreeable  manners  are  needed  in  the  Charles's 
man  who  stands  at  the  head  of  a  nation  ;  and  ^^egiect. 
more  than  one  remembered  that  Cromwell  and  his  Par- 
liament, even  if  they  had  been  strict  and  serious,  had  not 
given  their  time  to  selfish  pleasures,  and  had  conscien- 
^    tiously  tried  to  do  what  they  believed  was  for  the  good  of 
i^  the  country.     Mr.  Pepys,  the  secretary  of  the  admiralty, 
who   had  welcomed    Charles   so   jubilantly,   now  wrote 
sadly  in  his  diary  :  "  The  king  do  mind  nothing  but  plea- 
sures, and  hates  the  very  sight  or  thoughts  of  business." 
,  ^       No  gratitude  had  Charles  for  those  who  had  lost  their 
Q^  lands  or  risked  their  lives  in  his  service.     He  was  ready 
I    to  grant  a  coat  of  arms  or  to  found  a  society  of  Charles's 
■^  "Knights  of  the  Royal  Oak,"  but  he  would  not  ingratitude, 
forego  one  of  his  shameless  pleasures  to  try  to  make  up 
to  his  friends  what  they  had  lost  in  his  service.     That 
the  king  had  any  responsibility  never  seemed  to  enter 
his  mind. 

222.  Religious  persecutions.  In  the  midst  of  all  this 
mad  frivolity,  the  people  who  wished  to  live  simply  and 
truly  were  so  aghast  at  the  wickedness  of  the  times  that 
they  felt  more  strongly  than  ever  that  doing  right  was 


258 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1670- I 682 


the  most  necessary  thing  in  the  world.  It  was  in  these 
Pilgrim's  ^^ys  t^^^  "Pilgrim's  Progress,"  the  best  of  all 
Progress,  allegories,  was  written.  Its  author  was  John 
Bunyan,  a  Puritan,  and^for  the  crime  of  refusing  to  at- 
tend the  Church  of  England,  and  persisting  in  preaching 
to  any  one  that  would  listen  to  him,  he  was  imprisoned 
for  twelve  years.  It  was  while  he  was  in  jail  that  he 
wrote  this  marvellous  book. 

John  Bunyan  was  not  the-  only  man  that  suffered  for 
his  religious  belief.  The  Puritans  were  again  forbidden 
to  meet  for  prayer  and  preaching  even  in  a  private  house  ; 
and  if  a  man  offered  prayer  in  his  own  home  when  more 
than  three  were  present,  they  were  all  liable  to  be  impris- 
oned. The  same  law  applied  to  the  Quakers,  and  they 
met  together  so  openly  that  soon  the  jails  were  overflow- 
ing with  them.  It  was  in  this  reign  of  Charles  that 
William  Penn  asked  the  king  to  give  him  a  tract  of  land 
Pennsyi-  ^^  America  instead  of  a  large  sum  of  money 
vania.  that  the  government  owed  his  father.     This  re- 

quest was  granted  very  willingly,  and  henceforth  the 
Quakers  had  a  refuge  in  the  New  World,  when  life  in 

England  became  unbearable. 
The  Roman  Catholics  did 
not  suffer  from  fines  and 
imprisonment,  but  a  law  was 
made  forbidding  any  one  to 
hold  office  under  govern- 
ment unless  he  had  taken 
certain  oaths  that  no  Roman 
Catholic  could  conscien- 
tiously repeat.  This  last  law 
was  one  with  which  the  king 
had  no  sympathy,  for  his 
JOHN  BUNYAN  youugcr  brother  James  was 


i66s-i666]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  259 

a  Roman  Catholic,  and  he  himself  became  one  before  his 
death. 

223.  Tho  Great  Plague.  1665.  When  Charles  had 
been  on  the  throne  five  years,. several  comets  appeared 
in  the  sky.  People  were  afraid  of  comets,  and  all  won- 
dered what  terrible  event  would  come  to  pass.  There 
was  a  hot,  dry  spring,  and  then  came  the  Great  Plague, 
which  swept  over  England  as  the  Black  Death  had  done 
three  hundred  years  before.  Whenever  any  one  was 
taken  with  it,  the  words,  "  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us," 
were  written  with  red  chalk  on  his  door.  Every  one 
who  could  leave  hurried  to  the  country.  The  stores  were 
closed.  The  streets  were  silent  as  the  tomb  except  for 
the  passing  of  the  dead-cart  and  the  awful  cry,  "  Bring 
out  your  dead,  bring  out  your  dead."  People  did  not 
venture  out  of  doors  if  they  could  help  it,  and  if  they  met 
any  one  on  the  street,  they  would  cover  their  faces  and 
hurry  along  for  fear  of  catching  the  disease.  At  first  the 
dead  were  buried  only  in  the  night,  but  soon  so  many 
died  that  there  were  burials  and  the  tolling  of  bells  all 
night  long  and  all  day  long.  Many  of  the  Puritan  minis- 
ters stayed  in  the  city  and  bravely  did  all  that  they  could 
for  the  dying,  but  as  soon  as  the  plague  was  over,  they 
were  persecuted  as  severely  as  ever.  After  six  months 
had  passed  the  pestilence  began  to  die  out,  and  a  little 
later  people  ventured  to  return  from  the  country.  Great 
fires  had  been  kept  burning  in  the  streets  to  purify  the 
air,  but  the  houses  were  old  and  dirty,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  nothing  but  their  destruction  would  conquer  the 
disease. 

224.  The  Great  Fire.  The  next  year  came  the  great  fire, 
"a  most  horrid,  malicious,  bloody  flame,"  says  Mr.  Pepys* 
in  his  journal.     For  three  days  it  swept  the  city  of  Lon- 
don; houses,  stores,  and  churches  were  in  ashes,  and 


26o  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1664-1666 

only  a  little  group  of  buildings  remained.  Not  many 
lives  were  lost,  but  the  poor  people  suffered  terribly,  for 
almost  everything  that  they  possessed  was  destroyed. 
Charles  and  his  brother  James  were  both  very  kind  to 
the  sufferers,  and  did  all  that  they  could  to  help  them. 
One  of  Charles's  council  heartlessly  suggested  that  the  fire 
was  a  good  thing,  for  London  had  always  been  rebellious 
to  her  rulers,  and  now  the  king  could  govern  the  city  as 
he  liked.  It  is  good  to  know  that  Charles  was  very  in- 
dignant at  this  speech.  The  famous  architect,  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren,  had  a  plan  for  rebuilding  the  city  so  that 
there  would  be  no  more  narrow,  winding  streets,  but  the 
owners  of  property  would  not  agree  to  any  change,  and 
the  city  was  rebuilt  on  the  same  foundations,  though 
much  brick  and  stone  was  used  instead  of  wood. 

225.  Charles  robs  the  treasury.  Poor  London  had 
another  trouble  to  meet  that  was  almost  as  bad  as  the 
fire.  The  country  was  at  war  with  Holland,  but  Charles 
had  spent  on  his  pleasures  the  money  that  Parliament 
had  voted  for  the  war.  He  was  longing  to  rule  without 
Parliament,  and  he  thought  that  he  could  if  there  was 
only  some  way  to  get  money.  The  French  king,  Louis 
XIV.,  was  very  rich,  and  to  get  Dunkirk  back  he  had 
given  Charles  a  large  sum,  and  promised  to  give  him 
much  more  if  he  would  help  conquer  the  Dutch.  Charles 
had  not  the  money  for  a  Dutch  war,  but  he  seized  from 
the  national  treasury  what  would  be  equal  to  nine  or  ten 
million  dollars  to-day  and  spent  it  partly  on  the  war  it  is 
true,  but  chiefly  for  his  own  pleasures.  This  money  had 
been  collected  to  repay  wealthy  citizens  of  London  who 
had  lent  large  sums  to  the  government,  and  when  they 
were  not  repaid,  many  merchants  and  bankers  were 
ruined.  It  was  in  this  war 'that  the  English  took  New 
York.     The  Dutch  had  made  a  settlement  at  the  mouth 


1678-1683]         THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  261 

of  the  Hudson,  which  they  named  New  Netherland,  but 
Charles  sent  over  a  fleet  to  take  possession  of  it,  and 
then  he  gave  it  to  his  brother  James.  As  James  was 
Duke  of  York,  the  name  of  the  city  was  changed  to  New 
York  in  his  honor. 

226.  Plots  against  the  king.     More  than  one  wished 
for  the  old  days  of  Cromwell.     All  over  the  kingdom 


•  COSTUMES   OF   GENTLEMEN    AND   SERVANT,   REIGN    OF   CHARLES   11. 

Showing  periwig,  feathers,  lace,  **  petticoat-breeches,"  etc.,  which  were  then  worn 

men  were  uneasy  and  restless.  An  infamous  or  half  in- 
sane wretch,  called  Titus  Gates,  declared  that  there  had 
been  a  gigantic  plot  formed  by  the  Roman  Catholics  to 
burn  London  and  to  murder  the  king.  This  was  false,  but 
a  plot  was  really  formed  by  some  of  the  Scotch  Puritans 
against  Charles  and  his  brother.  It  was  called  the  Rye 
House  Plot,  because  the  plan  was  to  murder  Charles  and 
James  at  the  Rye  House  near  London. 

227.  Charles's  successor.     The  more  strongly  Pro- 
testant the  country  became,  the  more  eager  was  Charles 


262  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1679-1685 

to  make  it  Roman  Catholic.  He  tried  his  best  to  have 
laws  passed  that  would  allow  him  to  favor  the  church  of 
his  choice,  but  Parliament  refused.  The  religious  ques- 
tion made  it  very  difficult  for  Parliament  to  decide 
who  should  reign  after  Charles.  His  next  heir  was  his 
brother  James,  but  James  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and 
the  country  wished  to  have  a  Protestant.  Parliament 
tried  to  pass  a  bill  called  the  "  Exclusion  Bill,"  that  would 
shut  James  from  the  throne,  but  it  failed,  partly  be- 
cause the  king  did  everything  that  he  could  against  it, 
and  partly  because  people  could  not  unite  upon  a  suc- 
Dukeof  cessor  to  Charles.  Some  wished  to  give  the 
Monmotttii.  crown  to  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  an  illegiti- 
mate son  of  Charles,  who  was  a  Protestant ;  and  some 
wished  to  give  it  to  one  of  James's  two  daughters,  who 
were  both  Protestants  ;  while  some  thought  that  the  only 
safe  way  was  to  "  exclude  "  James  and  his  children.  How 
the  matter  would  have  been  settled  is  a  question,  but 
Charles  suddenly  died,  before  anything  was  arranged,  and 
there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  put  James  on  the  throne. 
There  was  then,  in  1685,  a  king  whom  the  majority  of 
the  people  did  not  want,  but  tolerated  in  order  to  prevent 
civil  war;  and  there  was  a  rival  whom  the  majority  df 
the  people  heartily  wished  could  have  been  the  legal  heir. 
It  is  easy  to  see  what  is  likely  to  be  the  story  of  the  reign 
of  King  James  H. 

SUMMARY 

On  the  return  of  Charles  II.  the  regicide  judges  were  pun- 
ished, and  Cromwell's  grave  was  shamelessly  violated.  Par- 
liament was  devoted  to  an  extravagant,  ungrateful,  and  disso- 
lute king,  who  cared  for  nothing  but  his  own  disgraceful 
amusements.  Gradually  two  parties  were  formed,  one  deter- 
mined to  maintain  the  hereditary  succession  to  the  throne. 


1685]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  263 

a  course  that  would  increase  the  power  of  the  sovereign  ; 
the  other  determined  to  secure  for  the  future  a  Protestant 
ruler  who,  having  been  put  on  the  throne  by  the  people  rather 
than  by  any  right  of  birth,  would  be  more  strictly  accountable 
to  the  people  for  his  deeds. 

The  reign  was  marked  by  the  Great  Plague,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Great  Fire  of  London.  Puritans  and  Quakers 
were  persecuted.  The  harassing  of  the  Puritans  brought 
forth  "  Pilgrim's  Progress  ;  "  the  persecution  of  the  Quakers 
resulted  in  the  settlement  of  Pennsylvania. 


27.  James  II.     1685-1688 

228.  "  King  Monmouth's  "  rebellion.  Four  months 
after  the  reign  of  James  began,  there  was  a  rebellion 
against  him,  followed  by  a  revenge  that  was  worse  than 
the  rebellion.  The  Duke  of  Monmouth,  or  "  King  Mon- 
mouth," as  his  supporters  called  him,  was  in  Holland, 
and  he  felt  so  sure  that  people  in  England  wished  him 
to  be  king,  that  he  thought  all  he  had  to  do  was  to 
make  his  appearance  and  be  put  on  the  throne. 

Word  was  brought  to  London  one  day  that  three  Dutch 
vessels  had  been  seen  off  the  southern  coast  of  England. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  it  was  known  that  these  three 
vessels  had  sailed  directly  from  Holland,  and  that  the 
Duke  of  Monmouth  was  probably  on  board.  Parliament 
passed  various  resolutions  in  support  of  the  king.  One 
made  it  treason  not  only  to  propose  any  other  king,  but 
even  to  say  that  Monmouth  was  the  lawful  son  of  Charles. 

The  duke  had  landed  with  but  a  few  followers.  Others 
joined  him,  but  any  possibility  that  he  might  have  had  a 
more  general  support  was  destroyed  at  once  by  Monmouth 
a  foolish  proclamation  that  he  issued,  accusing  la  Taunton. 
King  James  of  burning  the  city  of  London,  of  murder- 
ing his  brother  Charles,  and  of  originating  the  plot  which 


264 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[168s 


Titus  Oates  said  had  been  formed.    Still,  there  were  some 
who  firmly  believed  Monmouth  to  be  the  rightful  heir 

to  the  throne,  and 
there  were  others 
who  were  ready  to 
support  him  in  the 
hope  that  through 
him  the  land  might 
again  have  a  Pro- 
testant sovereign. 
The  Puritan  influ- 
ence was  especially 
strong  in  Taun- 
ton, and  thither 
"King  Monmouth" 
marched.  Flowers 
and  green  leaves 
were  strewn  in  his 
way,  and  people 
hung  wreaths  and 
flags  from  the 
houses.  A  company  of  enthusiastic  schoolgirls  came  out 
eagerly  to  present  him  with  banners  that  they  themselves 
had  made. 

Monmouth  was  at  the  height  of  his  glory ;  but  in  less 
than  one  month  his  claims  were  brought  to  the  test  of 
Downfau  of  battle,  and  he  was  defeated  and  captured.  He 
Monmoutii.  begged  for  mercy,  and  actually  crawled  to  the 
feet  of  his  uncle,  promising  to  do  anything  if  only  his  life 
might  be  spared.  He  who  had  claimed  the  right  to  stand 
at  the  head  of  Protestantism  in  England  tried  to  win 
the  favor  of  James  by  promising  to  become  a  Roman 
Catholic.  James  told  him  that  he  might  see  a  priest  if 
he  wished  to  change  his  belief ;  but  the  rebel  was  not 


THE   DUKE   OF   MONMOUTH 


i685]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  265 

pardoned,  and  only  a  few  days  after  the  battle  he  was 
executed. 

229.  James's  revenge.  The  execution  of  the  leader 
was  no  more  than  would  have  been  expected,  but  a  pitiless 
revenge  was  visited  upon  the  country  folk  who  had  sup- 
ported him.  First,  Colonel  Kirke  and  his  ferocious 
soldiers,  afterwards  called  "  Kirjce's  Lambs,"  "Kirke's 
pursued  those  who  had  fled  after  the  battle.  ^"°-^^" 
These  poor  fugitives  were  horribly  tortured,  and  as  the 
soldiers  drank  and  revelled,  one  after  another  of  their 
prisoners  was  hanged  to  add  to  their  fiendish  amusement. 

Much  worse  than  even  this  was  the  tour  of  the  chief 
justice  of  England,  Judge  Jeffreys,  who  went  about 
through  the  revolting  districts  holding  a  court, 
which  became  known  as  the  "Bloody  Assizes."  Jeffreys 
The  first  victim  was  a  gentle  old  lady  who  had  "Bloody 
given  a  night's  lodging  to  a  fugitive  who  proved  -Assizes-" 
to  be  a  friend  of  Monmouth.  Jeffreys  sentenced  her  to 
be  burned  alive,  and  it  was  only  by  the  efforts  of  the 
clergy  that  she  was  permitted  to  be  beheaded.  The 
parents  of  the  young  girls  who  had  made  the  banners 
for  Monmouth  had  to  pay  a  large  sum  to  save  their 
daughters'  lives.  If  a  man  could  offer  a  great  bribe,  he 
was  safe  ;  but  few  of  Monmouth's  supporters  were  rich, 
and  the  slaughter  went  on.  Jeffreys  laughed  and  jested 
in  the  most  heart-rending  scenes,  and  boasted  that  he 
had  hanged  more  traitors  than  had  been  put  to  death  in 
six  hundred  years.  There  is  no  question  that  he  told  the 
truth,  for  more  than  one  thousand  were  hanged  or  be- 
headed or  savagely  flogged,  and  at  least  eight  hundred 
were  sold  as  slaves  to  the  West  Indies.  The  bodies  of 
many  that  were  put  to  death  were  cut  into  several  pieces, 
and  these  pieces  were  boiled  in  pitch  and  distributed 
among  the  villages  to  be  put  up  on  guideposts  or  on 


266 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[i68s 


Daniel 
Defoe. 


JUDGE  JEFFREYS 

church  towers.  It  is  no  wonder  that  even  a  century 
after  the  terrible  time,  people  were  afraid  to  go  in  the 
dark  by  the  places  where  the  gallows  of  Jeffreys  had 
stood.  Daniel  Defoe,  who  afterwards  wrote 
"Robinson  Crusoe,"  was  one  of  those  who 
joined  Monmouth's  army,  but  he  fortunately  escaped 
capture.  When  Jeffreys  returned  to  London,  James  was 
so  pleased  with  what  he  had  done  that  he  made  him  lord 
chancellor,  though  it  is  said  that  Jeffreys' s  own  father 
refused  to  let  him  enter  his  house. 

230.  James's  arbitrary   rule.     James  was  a  Stuart 
and  believed  in  the  "  divine  right  of  kings  "  as  firmly  as 


1066-1307]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  267 

did  the  first  James.  When  Parliament  feared  that  he 
would  follow  his  father's  plan  of  not  calling  a  session 
unless  he  had  to  ask  for  money,  and  therefore  did  not 
vote  him  as  much  as  he  had  demanded,  he  announced 
coolly,  "  The  best  way  to  meet  me  often  is  to  use  me 
well." 

James  began  with  a  pretence  of  liberality,  and  freed 
from  prison  all  who  were  in  confinement  for  refusing  to 
acknowledge  the  king  as  head  of  the  church  in  England. 
This  looked  well,  but  as  it  was  only  Roman  Catholics 
and  Quakers  that  had  refused  to  take  the  oath,  persecu- 
this  act  was  hardly  as  liberal  as  it  seemed ;  and  ^°^^- 
what  his  liberality  really  was  could  be  seen  by  his  perse- 
cution of  the  Scotch  Presbyterians.  Women  were  tied 
to  stakes  set  on  the  shore  at  low  tide,  so  that  when  the 
water  rose  theyVere  drowned;  men  were  shot  down  at 
their  own  doors  like  wild  beasts  ;  and  the  only  offence 
of  these  people  was  that  they  did  not  think  it  right  to 
attend  the  services  of  the  Church  of  England. 

231.  James  attempts  to  restore  the  Roman  Catholio 
Church  in  England.  Against  the  will  of  Parliament  the 
king  collected  a  large  army,  and  then  he  demanded  that 
Roman  Catholics  should  be  allowed  to  hold  office.  Par- 
liament would  not  agree,  but  he  put  his  friends  into 
office  as  if  he  were  the  only  authority  in  the  land.  The 
pope  cautioned  him  not  to  attempt  such  arbitrary  mea- 
sures ;  and  the  Roman  Catholics  in  England,  however 
glad  they  might  be  of  the  favor  shown  to  their  church, 
saw  plainly  that  by  breaking  the  laws  of  the  land,  he  was 
doing  them  no  real  good,  and  that  matters  would  only 
be  harder  for  them  in  the  end.  He  paid  no  attention 
to  their  advice,  but  instead  issued  a  Declaration  of  In- 
dulgence, granting  religious  freedom  to  both  Roman 
Catholics  and  Protestants. 


268  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1688 

While  there  were  some  who  believed  that  this  would 
be  a  good  law,  every  one  knew  that  not  the  king  but 
Parliament  was  the  only  authority  that  could  make  a 
law,  and  all  could  see  that  James's  only  aim  in  making 
the  decree  was  not  to  give  religious  liberty,  but  to  in- 
crease the  power  of  his  own  church.     The  king  paid  no 

attention  to  any  protests,  but  ordered  his  procla- 
prociama-     mation  to  be  read  in  every  church  in  the  land. 

One  clergyman  said  to  his  people,  "  I  am  obliged 
to  read  it  in  the  church,  but  you  are  not  obliged  to  listen 
to  it ;  so,  if  you  please,  I  will  wait  until  you  have  left  the 
building."  London  was  as  independent  as  ever,  and  it  is 
said  that  the  paper  was  read  in  but  four  of  her  churches. 
The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  six  other  bishops 
had  petitioned  the  king  not  to  insist  upon  their  reading  a 
proclamation  that  was  against  the  laws  of  the  land  ;  but 

James  had  flung  all'prudence  to  the  winds,  and 
mentofthe    he  sent  the  bishops  to  the  Tower.     Never  was 

there  such  an  uprising  of  sympathy.  When  the 
bishops  left  their  boat  to  enter  the  prison,  the  crowd  that 
thronged  the  shore  fell  on  their  knees  and  begged  for  a 
blessing.  James  had  thought  that  at  least  the  Puritan 
ministers  who  were  so  opposed  to  having  any  bishops 
would  be  on  his  side,  and  he  was  surprised  and  angry 
when  a  number  of  them  went  to  the  Tower  to  see  the 
pi-isoners  and  to  express  their  sympathy.  One  of  the 
bishops,  named  Trelawny,  was  from  Cornwall,  and  the 
stout-hearted  Cornishmen  began  to  sing  :  — 

"  And  shall  Trelawny  die, 
And  shall  Trelawny  die  ? 
There  *s  thirty  thousand  Cornishmen 
Will  know  the  reason  why." 

The  bishops  were  tried  for  "  seditious  libel "  and  were 
acquitted.     London  was  wild  with  delight ;  the  streets 


i688] 


THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART 


269 


were  all  aglow  with  bonfires,  and  the  houses  shone  with 
illuminations.  James  made  an  attempt  to  punish  some 
of  these  jubilant  people,  but  every  time  that  any  of  them 
were  tried  in  court  the  jury  would  bring  in  a  verdict  of 
"Not  guilty." 

232.  The  question  of  the  succession.  James's  two 
daughters  were  Protestants,  and  it  is  possible  that  the 
nation  would  have  borne 
with  the  king  much 
longer,  had  it  not  been 
that  while  the  bishops 
were  in  the  Tower,  a 
son  was  born  to  him. 
That  altered  matters, 
for  the  boy  would  be 
brought  up  as  a  Roman 
Catholic,  and  there 
would  be  only  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  strug- 
gles of  the  last  three 
years  —  for  all  these 
troubles  had  come  to 
pass  within  that  short  time.  The  only  thing  to  do  was  to 
appeal  to  James's  oldest  daughter  Mary,  who  had  married 
her  cousin,  William  of  Orange,  to  come  to  England  and 
be  queen.  It  was  a  hard  position  for  Mary  to  be  in,  but 
no  one  could  help  seeing  that  if  King  James  was  left  to 
run  his  own  cours^,  he  would  perhaps  lose  his  head  as 
well  as  his  crown. 

233.  The  Revolution  of  1688.  The  original  plan 
was  for  Mary  to  be  queen  and  her  husband  to  act  as 
prime  minister,  but  she  refused  to  agree  to  any  such  ar- 
rangement, and  it  was  settled  that  they  should  rule 
together.     This  seemed  an  especially  wise  plan,  for  Wil- 


JAMES   II. 


5^0  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1688 

liam  was  the  son  of  James's  sister  and,  after  the  children 
of  James,  was  the  next  heir  to  the  kingdom.  When 
William  landed,  James  made  a  slight  pretence  of  resist- 
ing, but  soon  fled,  taking  the  great  seal  with  him  and 
flinging  it  into  the  Thames.  No  one  tried  to  prevent  him 
from  going,  and  he  made  his  way  to  France.  The  Eng- 
lish throne  was  then  declared  to  be  vacant,  and  William 
and  Mary  were  crowned  sovereigns  of  England.  This 
act  is  called  the  "Revolution  of  1688,"  and  is  perhaps 
the  only  great  revolution  in  which  no  blood  was  shed. 
There  were  riots  in  London  and  considerable  destruction 
of  Roman  Catholic  property,  but  no  person  was  injured. 
Judge  Jeffreys  was  badly  frightened,  for  he  was  without 
his  royal  protector  and  in  the  midst  of  thousands  of 
people  who  hated  him  most  bitterly.  He  disguised  him- 
self and  tried  to  escape,  but  he  was  carried  to  the  Tower 
and  there  remained  until  he  died. 

Two  weeks  after  the  landing  of  William,  there  was  a 
great  meeting  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  kingdom  at 
Nottingham,  and  they  issued  a  paper  that  sounds  much 
like  the  American  Declaration  of  Independence  of  a  cen- 
tury later,  for  it  declares  that  to  resist  a  tyrant  is  not 
rebellion,  but  a  necessary  defence. 

SUMMARY 

That  "  King  Monmouth,"  with  no  hereditary  claim  to  the 
throne,  found  any  following  was  proof  of  the  growing  deter- 
mination of  England  to  have  a  Protestant  sovereign.  Kirke 
and  Jeffreys  visited  a  stern  revenge  upon  Monmouth's  sup- 
porters. James,  under  a  pretence  of  liberality,  did  all  in  his 
power  to  restore  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  England. 
He  declared  that  Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants  should 
have  religious  freedom,  and  required  all  clergymen  to  read  in 
their  churches  a  proclamation  to  this  effect,  contrary  as  it  was 


i688]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  271 

to  the  laws  of  the  land.     Seven  bishops  refused  and  were 
sent  to  the  Tower. 

The  birth  of  a  prince,  who  would  be  brought  up  as  a  Roman 
Catholic  aroused  the  country  to  invite  James's  Protestant 
daughter  Mary  and  her  husband,  William  of  Orange,  to  be- 
come its  sovereigns. 

28.  William  and  Mary,     i  688-1 702 

234.  Limitations  of  the  royal  power.  Perhaps  the 
strongest  wish  of  the  majority  of  the  English  people  in 
regard  to  their  ruler 
was  to  feel  that  they 
had  a  government  that 
could  be  depended 
upon,  and  that  would 
not  be  overthrown  by 
the  whim  of  whoever 
might  chance  to  wear 
the  crown.  England 
was  fortunate  in  that 
she  had  at  last  a  sov- 
ereign who  was  as 
eager  as  his  people  to 
have  a  just  and  stable 
government  and  to 
make  laws  that  would 
be  for  the  good  of  the 

^^^^'  WILLIAM    III. 

A  few  months  after 
William  landed,  he  very  willingly  signed  a  bill  presented 
to  him  by  Parliament  that  settled  several  of  the  difficult 
questions.  The  object  of  this  bill  was  to  limit  the  power 
of  the  sovereign.  One  article  declared  that  the  king 
should  have  no  standing  army,  and  should  impose  no 


272  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1688 

taxes  without  the  consent  of  Parliament.  Another  said 
that  he  must  not  interfere  with  the  execution  of  the 
laws ;  another,  that  he  must  call  Parliament  often,  and 
that  members  should  be  free  to  discuss  matters  as  they 
chose ;  another,  that  as  England  was  a  Protestant  coun- 
try, the  ruler  should  be  neither  a  Roman  Catholic  nor 
the  husband  or  wife  of  a  Roman  Catholic. 

236.  Increase  of  liberty.  The  king's  power  was  de- 
creasing and  the  people's  power  was  increasing.  Perhaps 
no  one  thing  was  more  favorable  to  the  strength  of  the 
people  than  the  freedom  that  was  now  given  to  print 
more  nearly  what  any  one  chose.  Before  this  no  one 
had  been  allowed  to  print  anything  without  the  permis- 
sion of  the  government  inspector,  and  now,  if  an  editor 
printed  any  of  the  speeches  made  in  Parliament,  he  ^as 
in  danger  of  being  fined  or  imprisoned ;  but  even  this 
partial  freedom  was  a  long  step  in  the  right  direction. 

An  important  question  was  how  much  liberty  to  allow 
to  the  various  churches.  At  length  a  law  was  made 
which  granted  freedom  to  nearly  all  except  Roman 
Catholics.  Unfair  as  this  was  to  one  church,  it  was  at 
least  somewhat  consistent  with  the  general  government, 
since  that  had  declared  that  henceforth  England  was  to 
be  a  Protestant  kingdom  ;  and  at  worst,  the  whole  nation 
knew  exactly  where  the  government  stood,  and  that 
there  would  be  no  pretence  of  general  liberality  when  the 
real  intention  was  to  favor  only  one  church.  William 
had  come  from  a  land  where  people  were  free  to  believe 
as  they  would.  When  he  was  proclaimed  king  of  Scot- 
land, the  usual  oath  was  presented  to  him,  that  he  *'  would 
be  careful  to  root  out  all  heretics  and  enemies  to  the  true 
worship  of  God."  As  he  repeated  it,  he  said  gravely,  "I 
do  not  mean  by  these  words  that  I  am  under  any  obliga- 
tion to  be  a  persecutor  ;  "  and  although  some  very  strict 


1689] 


THE   HOUSE    OF   STUART 


273 


laws  were  made  against  the  Roman  Catholics,  his  influ- 
ence was  always  against  the  execution  of  the  laws,  and 
that  could  not  fail  to  better  matters  in  some  degree. 

236.  Opposing  parties.  It  could  not  be  expected 
that  everybody  in  England  would  be  delighted  to  have 
one  king  sent  away 
and  another  put  on 
the  throne,  and 
there  were  two 
classes  of  people 
that  were  espe- 
cially opposed  to 
the  course  taken 
by  the  country. 
The  leaders  of  one 
party  were  five  of 
the  seven  bishops 
that  James  had 
sent  to  the  Tower 
for  refusing  to  read 
his  proclamation, 
and  with  them 
were  several  hun- 
dred other  cler- 
gymen. These 
bishops  believed  in  the  "divine  right  of  kings"  enough 
to  think  that  Parliament  ought  not  to  change  the  order  of 
succession,  but  not  enough  to  be  sure  that  whatever  this 
"divinely  appointed  "  king  chose  to  do  was  right.  They 
were  honest  in  their  belief,  and  gave  up  their  .^jfo^. 
churches  rather  than  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  li^rors." 
to  William  as  their  lawful  king ;  and  it  was  for  this  re- 
fusal to  swear  that  they  were  called  "  non-jurors."  In 
the  times  of  Henry  VI 1 1,  they  would  have  lost  their 


QUEEN    MARY    II 


2/4  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1689 

heads   for  treason,   but   England   was   becoming   more 

liberal. 

The  other  class  of  people  that  were  opposed  to  William 

were  called  Jacobites,  from  Jacobus^  the  Latin  word  for 

James.  Some  of  them  firmly  believed  that  James 
Jacobites.  ,  • 

ought  to  be  on  the  throne ;  and  some  merely 

thought  it  quite  possible  that  he  might  succeed  in  coming 

to  power  again,  and  wished  to  stand  well  with  him  if 

such  should  be  the  case.     The  result  of  this  opposition 

was  that  William  had  little  sincere,  hearty  support;  and 

if  he  had  not  been  strong  and  wise  and  upright  in  his 

intention  to  do  his  best  for  the  land  which  he  had  been 

asked  to  govern,  one  can  hardly  guess  what  misfortunes 

would  have  come  to  England  during  those  last  years  of 

the  seventeenth  century. 

237.  James  tries  to  regain  the  throne.  The  Jaco- 
bites were  more  numerous  in  Ireland  and  in  Scotland 
than  in  England.  James  knew  that  for  him  to  land  in 
England  and  try  to  regain  the  crown  was  hopeless,  but 
he  fancied  that  he  could  go  to  Ireland  and  then  to  Scot- 
land, for  he  felt  sure  that  in  those  countries  there  were 
many  who  would  support  him,  and  he  trusted  that  after 
his  rule  had  been  established  in  these  two  lands,  he  would 
be  strong  enough  to  venture  to  come  to  England. 

There  were  two  things  that  Ireland  had  long  wanted 
with  all  her  heart.  One  was  a  free  Parliament  of  her 
FeeUngsof  own,  and  the  other  was  the  establishment  of  the 
the  Irish.  Roman  Catholic  church.  For  a  promise  of 
these  she  had  offered  her  support  to  Charles  I.  in  the 
times  of  the  civil  war,  and  for  this  support  the  Irish  had 
been  mercilessly  punished  by  Cromwell.  Slaughter  had 
followed  slaughter,  until  one  can  hardly  wonder  that  to 
the  Irish  the  name  of  Puritan  was  synonymous  with  atro- 
cious cruelty ;  and  Cromwell's  attempt  to  drive  all  the 


1689]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  2/5 

Irish  to  the  west  and  leave  the  more  cultivated  parts  of 
the  land  to  the  English  settlers  could  do  no  less  than 
arouse  a  deadly  hatred  to  all  Protestant  rule.  When 
James  came  to  the  throne,  the  Irish  felt  that  he  would  be 
their  friend  because  he  was  a  Roman  Catholic ;  but  he 
had  made  almost  as  much  trouble  by  his  friendship  as 
any  preceding  king  had  made  by  his  cruelty,  for  he  had 
snatched  all  power  from  the  English  whose  homes  were 
in  Ireland  and  had  given  it  into  the  hands  of  the  Irish. 
There  could  have  been  no  action  better  adapted  to  arouse 
hatred  between  the  two  classes  of  dwellers  in  Ireland. 
In  his  wish  to  regain  his  former  position,  James,  remem- 
bering only  that  the  Irish  were  in  power  and  that  an 
unpopular  Protestant  king  was  on  the  throne,  had  no 
doubt  that  an  exiled  sovereign,  who  was  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic and  the  heir  of  Charles  II.,  would  find  in  Ireland  firm 
friends  and  strong  supporters. 

He  landed  with  troops  that  Louis  XIV.  had  loaned 
him,  and  he  was  delighted  to  find  that  he  was  received 
with  a  generous  amount  of  cheering  and  many  flowers 
and  decorations.  He  did  not  realize  that  this  enthusiasm 
did  not  signify  devotion  to  his  cause,  but  rather  an  eager 
hope  that  by  supporting  him  Ireland  might  weaken 
William,  and  so  win  her  freedom. 

In  northern  Ireland  the  English  and  Scotch  settlers  on 
the  land  that  had  been  stolen  from  the  Irish  owners  were 
attacked.    Many  of  them  withdrew  to  the  towns,   ^. 

■^  siege  of 

especially  to  Londonderry,  which  was  well  forti-  London- 
fied.      King   James's    soldiers    were    about   to     *"^" 
march  in,  and  as  the  governor  was  a  Roman  Catholic, 
there  would  probably  have  been   little  opposition ;  but 
thirteen  young  boys,  apprentices,  took  matters  into  their 
own  hands,  it  is  said,  and  shut  the  gates. 

Then  began  a  terrible  siege,  lasting  for  more  than  three 


2'j6  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1689 

months.  There  was  firing  night  and  day.  Several  thou- 
sand people  were  shut  up  in  this  town,  and  they  were 
starving.  A  pound  of  tallow  was  worth  four  shillings,  a 
rat  one  shilling.  A  little  fish  from  the  river  was  not 
for  sale  for  money,  but  could  be  exchanged  for  meal  —  if 
any  one  had  meal  to  offer.  Three  thousand  people  had 
already  perished  ;  must  they  surrender  }  "  Never,"  cried 
a  clergyman  named  George  Walker,  who  was  now  acting 
as  governor,  and  straight  into  the  pulpit  he  went  and  held 
up  the  open  Bible  before  them.  "  It  is  for  this  that  you 
are  fighting,"  said  he.  '*  It  is  God's  battle,  and  He  will 
deliver  you." 

A  little  boy,  too  young  to  be  suspected,  had  been  sent 
to  the  town  by  the  English  with  a  letter  in  a  button  to 
say  that  help  was  coming  ;  but  no  help  came.  At  last, 
only  one  hour  after  the  sermon,  away  down  the  river  the 
famished  watchers  could  see  the  English  ships.  On  board 
were  troops  and  arms  and  food  and  friends.  They  come 
nearer.  Shot  after  shot  is  fired.  They  return  the  fire 
and  sail  on.  Across  the  river  is  a  heavy  boom  of  logs 
and  chains  and  great  cables.  There  is  no  hope.  Yes, 
the  first  ship  has  dashed  at  the  boom  fearlessly  and  has 
broken  it.  Up  the  river  come  the  three,  and  the  heroes 
of  Londonderry  who  yet  live  are  saved. 

The  next  year  William  was  needed  in  England  and  in 
Scotland,  but  he  felt  that  he  was  needed  most  in  Ireland, 
so  he  chose  nine  men  to  help  his  wife  in  governing  the 
»  «,    *       kingdom  and  went  to  Ireland.     Then  came  the 

Battle  of  ^ 

theBoyne.     battle  of  the  Boyne,  in  which  William  took  com- 

XBfiO 

mand  of  the  English  forces,  and  James,  at  a 
comfortable  distance,  watched  the  Irish  fight  for  him  and 
his  crown.  When  he  saw  that  his  troops  were  losing,  he 
went  to  a  place  of  safety  in  Dublin  as  fast  as  he  could 
gallop,  and  told  the  magistrates  that  he  had  always  heard 


1690] 


THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART 


277 


that  the  Irish  were  worthless  soldiers.  "Never  again 
will  I  lead  an  Irish  army,"  said  this  ungrateful  king.  It 
is  no  wonder   that    an    Irishman  called  out  to  one  of 


WILLIAM    CROSSING   THE    BOYNE 


William's  men,  "  Change  kings  with  us,  and  we  will  fight 
you  again." 

The  Irish  were  promised  that  if  they  would  submit, 
they  should  have  more  liberty ;  but  when  the  English 
settlers  in  Ireland  were  again  in  full  power,  the  Irish 
were  persecuted  and  fined,  and  their  lands  were  con- 
fiscated. This  outrageous  treatment  was  begun  very 
soon,  but  the  worst  of  it  was  carried  on  after  the  reign 
of  William  was  ended. 

238.  Louis  tries  to  invade  England.  When  William 
went  to  Ireland,  he  well  knew  that  there  was  great  danger 
of  trouble  in  England.  Louis  XIV.  had  long  been  trying 
to  conquer  Holland,  and  now  to  have  William  of  Orange 
not  only  oppose  him  successfully  in  Holland  but  also  rule 
the  kingdom  of  England  to  the  loss  of  his  friend  James, 


278 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[ I 690-1 692 


was  more  than  he  could  endure  ;  and  while  William  was 
in  Ireland,  Louis  sent  a  fleet  to  attack  England.  This 
was  the  best  thing  that  could  have  happened,  for  the 
strongest  English  supporters  of  James  would  not  look 
on  calmly  to  see  their  country  invaded  by  foreigners. 
Moreover,  Queen  Mary  was  greatly  loved  by  her  subjects, 
and  people  of  all  parties  were  ready  to  second  her  ener- 
getic defence  of  their  land.  The  whole  country  arose, 
and  the  French  commander  saw  that  he  must  return 
to  France.  In  memory  of  the  occurrence  a  medal  was 
struck,  and  on  it  was  depicted  Mary  in  her  royal  robes 
and  crown  advancing  to  the  seashore.  In  her  hand  was 
the  trident  of  Neptune,  and  in  the  distance  were  the 
retreating  ships  of  the  French.  Louis  tried  once  more, 
and  trusted  that  his  bribes  had  won  over  the  English 
admiral  to  a  treacherous  surrender ;  but  when  the  test 
really  came,  the  admiral  could  not  make  up  his  mind 
to  be  a  traitor,  and  he  attacked  and  destroyed  the  greater 


MEDAL    TO    COMMEMORATE    MARY'S    REPULSE    OF    LOUIS    XIV. 

part  of  the  French  fleet  off  La  Hogue.  After  this,  Louis 
submitted  sufficiently  to  sign  a  treaty  and  acknowledge 
that  William  was  rightfully  king  of  England.  He  kept 
the  peace  for  four  years,  and  possibly  this  is  as  much  as 
could  have  been  expected  of  him. 


1688-1694]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  279 

239.  Peeling  toward  William  and  Mary.  William's 
life  in  England  was  not  pleasant,  and  it  may  be  that  the 
secret  of  much  of  the  discomfort  he  had  to  meet  was  that 
his  manner  was  cold  and  reserved.  The  English  were 
used  to  the  gay,  off-hand  familiarity  of  the  Stuarts,  and 
the  coldness  of  the  king  —  which  often  resulted  from 
shyness  and  sensitiveness  —  they  thought  meant  dislike. 
He  was  neither  fascinating  in  his  manner  nor  handsome, 
and  he  knew  English  so  imperfectly  that  he  wrote  his 
speech  to  Parliament  in  French.  Charles  had  always 
had  a  jest  and  a  merry  retort,  but  William  was  serious 
and  slow  to  speak.  The  English  were  ready  to  criticise 
whatever  William  did,  and  when  he  gave  valuable  posi- 
tions in  England  to  his  Dutch  friends,  they  did  not  stop 
to  think  of  the  many  thousands  of  pounds  that  the  Stuarts 
had  lavished  upon  their  amusements  and  their  worthless 
favorites.  It  is  true  that  William  did  not  like  England. 
He  said  once  that  he  wished  he  was  a  thousand  miles 
away  from  it  and  had  never  seen  it.  His  subjects  were 
indignant,  but  when  he  suggested  that  he  was  quite  ready 
to  resign  the  crown  and  return  to  Holland,  the  English 
became  very  loyal,  for  they  could  not  help  seeing  that  it 
was  a  great  thing  for  them  to  have  a  brave,  wise  king 
whose  first  aim  was  not  to  amuse  himself,  or  to  force 
any  church  upon  them,  but  who  wished  simply  to  do  his 
very  best  for  the  country  that  he  had  been  asked  to 
rule. 

The  English  people  were  fond  of  Mary.  She  was 
gentle  and  kind,  and  as  eager  to  do  well  by  them  as  her 
husband  was.  William  was  heartbroken  when  she  died, 
for  she  seems  to  have  been  the  only  person  in  the  world 
who  really  understood  and  appreciated  this  silent,  un- 
demonstrative man.  He  went  on  conscientiously  to  the 
end  of  his  reign.     He  was  never  popular,  and  the  English 


28o  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1702 

never  forgot  that  he  was  a  foreigner,  but  the  worst  charge 
that  can  be  brought  against  him  is  that  he  was  not  severe 
enough  in  punishing  one  or  two  cruel  deeds  that  his 
officers  committed  in  his  name. 

240.  Succession  to  the  throne.  William  died  in 
1702  from  the  stumbling  of  his  horse  over  a  molehill. 
James  had  died  a  few  months  before,  but  his  son,  James 
Edward,  was  now  a  young  man  of  fifteen,  and  those  who 
had  supported  his  father  were  eager  to  have  him  for 
their  king,  and  they  used  to  drink  to  the  health  of  the 
mole,  "the  little  gentleman  in  black  velvet,"  as  they 
called  him,  that  had  caused  the  death  of  William. 

Parliament  had  decreed  that  if  William  and  Mary  left 
no  children,  Anne,  sister  of  Mary,  should  become  queen  ; 
but  Louis  XIV.  paid  no  attention  to  this,  and  he  forgot 
all  about  the  treaty  by  which  he  had  acknowledged  that 
William  was  the  rightful  king.  As  soon  as  James  died, 
Louis  proclaimed  James  Edward  sovereign  of  England. 

SUMMARY 

England  had  at  last  a  king  who  wished  to  make  laws  for 
the  good  of  the  land,  even  though  they  lessened  his  own 
power.  Increased  religious  liberty  was  granted,  and  more 
freedom  was  given  to  the  press.  Nevertheless,  there  was 
opposition  to  William's  rule  by  the  "  non-jurors  "  and  the 
Jacobites.  James,  assisted  by  Louis  XIV.,  attempted  to  re- 
gain the  crown  by  promising  Ireland  a  free  Parliament  and 
the  establishment  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  but  failed. 
Louis  XIV.  attempted  to  invade  England,  but  the  loyalty 
which  the  expected  attack  called  forth  did  much  to  support 
the  ruling  sovereign. 


I702] 


THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART 


2S1 


29.  Anne.     1702-17 14 

241,  Brilliant  reign  of  Queen  Anne.  For  nine  hun- 
dred years  England  had  been  a  monarchy.  She  had  had 
sovereigns  that  were  unwise,  ignorant,  passionate,  but 
never   before  had  she 

been  ruled  by  a  mon- 
arch who  was  quite  so 
slow  and  dull  as  this 
"good  Queen  Anne;" 
and  yet  the  twelve  years 
of  Anne's  sovereignty 
formed  one  of  the  most 
interesting  periods  in 
literature  and  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  in  mili- 
tary success  that  have 
ever  occurred  in  the  his- 
tory of  England. 

242.  The  age  of 
prose.  In  Elizabeth's 
time  men  were  aroused 
and  excited  by  the 
great  events  and  dis- 
coveries of  the  day.  Their  imagination  was  stimulated, 
and  they  wrote  much  poetry.  Between  the  age  of 
Elizabeth  and  the  age  of  Anne,  poetry  had  gradually 
lost  its  first  free  inspiration.  Authors  were  forced  to 
depend  upon  the  patronage  of  some  man  of  wealth  and 
position,  so  that  the  personal  character  of  the  king  was 
an  important  matter  in  the  development  of  literature. 
The  dissoluteness  of  James  I.,  the  falseness  of  Charles  I., 
the  narrowness  of  the  Puritan  outlook,  the  reckless  im- 
morality of  Charles  II.,  and  the  struggle  for  Protestant 


QUEEN   ANNE 


282  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1702-1714 

ism  during  the  last  years  of  the  century,  were  not  influ- 
ences that  would  encourage  a  free,  unrestrained  poetical 
expression.  Men  wrote  of  philosophy,  politics,  natural 
science,  and  religion.  The  loss  of  poetry  was  the  gain 
of  prose. 

In  Anne's  day  there  was  far  less  that  was  exciting  and 
inspiring  than  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  people  wrote 
little  poetry  that  seems  really  noble  and  great,  but  the 
ability  to  write  pro^e  had  been  developing,  and  the  prose 
of  this  period  is  so  graceful  and  musical,  and  so  sure  to 
use  the  right  word  for  the  thought,  that  even  after  these 
two  hundred  years  it  is  as  great  a  pleasure  to  read  it  as 

».,.  ««        it  was  in  Queen  Anne's  time.     Some  of  the 

The  "  Spec-  ^   .     . 

tator."         best  of  it  IS  found  in  Addison's  articles  in  the 

''  Spectator."     This  paper  made  no  attempt  to 

tell  the  news  of  the  day,  but  presented  brilliant  essays 

that  jested  good-humoredly  at  the  faults  of  the  times, 

and  interesting  sketches  of  what  was  going  on  in  the 

busy  English  world.      Many  numbers  were  written  by 

Addison  alone. 

The   works   of   Alexander    Pope,  well   represent   the 

poetry  of  the  age.    His  ideas  were  keen  and  sensible  and 

Th       try    ^^^^  expressed,  and  his  couplets  are,  therefore, 

of  Anne's      so  often  quoted  that  no  one  can  read  his  poems 

without  finding  many  familiar  lines ;   and  yet 

the  poetry  of  the  time  does  not  make  us  feel  as  if  the 

writer  was  so  full  of  lofty  and  beautiful  thoughts  that  he 

could  not  help  writing,  but  rather  as  if  he  had  tried  his 

best  to  put  every  thought  that  he  did  have  in  the  words 

that  would  express  it  most  exactly.     One  reason  for  this 

carefulness  is  that  with  the  return  of  Charles  II.  from 

France,  the  English  became  more  interested  in  French 

literature,   and  the  French  were   aiming   especially   at 

making  every  line  smooth  and  exact  and  nicely  finished. 


1707]  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  283 

243.  Union  between  England  and  Scotland.  1707. 
•People  printed  very  nearly  what  they  would.  If  they 
wrote  against  the  government,  they  might  get  into 
trouble,  but  at  worst  the  penalties  were  generally  fines 
or  imprisonments  ;  and  men  were  free  to  discuss  what 
they  chose.  It  became  a  custom  to  meet  in  the  coffee- 
houses to  talk  over  the  literary  and  political  events  of 


"Mm 


ENGLISH    FLAG 


UNION   JACK   OF    1707 


SCOTTISH    FLAG 


the  day.  One  interesting  subject  which  everybody  was 
discussing  was  whether  England  and  Scotland  should  be 
united.  Since  the  reign  of  James  L,  one  hundred  years 
before,  the  two  countries  had  had  one  king,  but  two  par- 
liaments and  different  laws.  When  the  Scotch  wished 
to  sell  goods  in  England  or  in  the  English  colonies,  they 
had  to  pay  duties  just  as  if  they  had  no  connection  with 
England.  If  the  two  countries  should  be  united,  there 
would  be  no  more  duties.  On  the  other  hand,  Scotland 
had  never  forgotten  that  the  Stuarts  were  Scotch,  and 
over  in  France  was  the  young  James  Edward  Stuart  all 
ready  to  take  the  throne,  and  England  was  afraid  that 
wherl  Anne  died,  the  Scotch  would  proclaim  him  as  their 
king.  The  result  was  that  in  1707  the  two  countries 
were  united  under  the  name  of  Great  Britain.    The  Brit- 


284  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1702-1707 

ish  flag,  the  Union  Jack,  was  then  formally  adopted, 
though  it  had  been  used  more  or  less  ever  since  the  reign 
of  James  I.  Reused  to  sign  his  name  "Jacques,"  the 
French  word  for  James,  and  this  is  why  the  flag  is  called 
the  Union  Jack.  It  combined  the  red  upright  cross  of 
Saint  George,  the  patron  saint  of  England,  and  the  white 
cross  of  Saint  Andrew,  the  patron  saint  of  Scotland. 
Many  of  the  Scotch  were  never  reconciled  to  this  union, 
and  one  of  the  songs  of  the  day  said  :  — 

"  What  force  or  guile  could  not  subdue 

Through  many  warlike  ages, 
Is  wrought  now  by  a  coward  few 

For  hireling  traitors'  wages. 
The  English  steel  we  could  disdain, 

Secure  in  valor's  station  ; 
But  English  gold  has  been  our  bane; 

Such  a  parcel  of  rogues  in  a  nation  !  " 

244.  Queen  Anne's  War.  Just  across  the  Channel 
trouble  was  arising  for  England.  The  grandson  of  Louis 
XIV.  had  been  offered  the  throne  of  Spain  ;  and  if  Spain 
should  support  France,  Louis  would  be  strong  enough 
to  put  James  Edward  on  the  English  throne  and  to  seize 
Holland,  which  was  a  valuable  ally  of  England.  A  war 
followed,  which  was  called  in  England  the  War  of  the 
Spanish  Succession ;  but  in  America  the  colonists,  who 
fought  just  because  England  and  Spain  were  fighting, 
called  it  simply  Queen  Anne's  War. 

The  greatest  commander  in  England  was  the  Duke  of 
Marlborough,  who  had  worked  his  way  up  to  his  high 
position.  He  was  a  brilliant,  fascinating,  lov- 
of  Marl-  able  man,  but  he  cared  so  much  for  money  that 
oroug  .  j£  Anne  had  not  been  able  to  reward  him  more 
lavishly  than  could  James  Edward,  he  would  have  'been 
as  false  to  her  as  he  was  to  James  Edward's  father  and 
also  to  William.    This  famous  general  was  at  the  head  of 


1 704-1 7 1 3] 


THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART 


2^5 


JOHN    CHURCHILL,   DUKE   OF   MARL- 
BOROUGH 


the  English  land  forces, 
and  before  long  he  gained 
so  great  a  victory  over 
Louis  at  Blenheim,  a  lit- 
tle village  in  Bavaria,  that 
the  English  could  not  do 
enough  for  him.  One  gift 
that  they  made  him  was 
a  palace  with  grounds 
twelve  miles  in  circum- 
ference ;  and  that  the 
victory  might  never  be 
forgotten,  they  named 
the  place  Blenheim.  All 
through  the  battle  the 
duke's  little  dog  had  kept 

at  his  master's  heels,  and  it  is  said  that  a  descendant  of 
this  dog  is  presented  to  every  Marlborough  bride  when 
she  first  enters  the  door  of  the  palace. 

Although  Louis  had  met  with  such  defeats,  the  war 
was  not  ended  by  any  means.     Sir  Cloudesley  capture  of 
Shovel,    who   was  at   the   head   of   the   navy,   Gibraltar, 
captured  Gibraltar,  and  the  duke  went  on  win- 
ning victory  after  victory. 

245.  The  queen's  friends,  A  treaty  was  signed 
much  sooner  than  it  otherwise  would  have  been  because 
Queen  Anne  and  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough  had  a 
quarrel.  For  many  years  the  queen  had  done  just  as 
the  duchess  ordered  in  great  matters  as  well  as  small. 
The  name  of  the  duchess  was  Sarah,  and  people  used  to 
say,  "Queen  Anne  reigns,  but  Queen  Sarah  rules." 
They  wrote  to  each  other  almost  every  day.  They 
dropped  their  titles  and  took  feigned  names,  as  children 
often  do.     The  duchess  was  "  Mrs.  Freeman,"  and  the 


286 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1^0 


queen  was  "Mrs.  Morley."  After  the  war  had  gone  on 
for  several  years,  these  two  devoted  friends  had  a  quar- 
rel.    Anne  was  as  obstinate  as  weak  people  usually  are, 

and  refused  to 
"make  up ;"  but 
she  could  not 
be  happy  without 
some  one  to  think 
for  her  and  tell 
her  what  to  do, 
so  she  took  a 
new  favorite,  — 
a  Mrs.  Masham. 
Mrs.  Masham  was 
eager  to  have  the 
war  end  so  that 
the  duke  would 
not  gain  any  more 
glory  or  fill  his 
pockets  anyfuller, 
and  it  was  because 
of  her  influence 
over  the  queen  that  the  fighting  ceased. 

England  never  gave  up  Gibraltar,  and  by  the  treaty 
she  made  great  gains  in  America,  for  not  only  Nova 
Scotia  and  Newfoundland,  but  the  wide  expanse  of 
country  about  Hudson  Bay,  fell  into  her  hands. 

246.  The  last  Stuart  sovereign.  Anne  was  the  last 
of  the  Stuarts  to  wear  the  English  crown.  Her  half- 
brother,  James  JEdward,  still  lived,  and  it  is  quite  possible 
that  he  might  have  been  made  king  of  England,  if  he 
had  been  willing  to  become  a  Protestant.  Anne's  chil- 
dren had  all  died,  and  the  crown  went,  as  Parliament  had 
decided  some  years  before,  to  a  German  prince  called 


SARAH,    DUCHESS   OF   MARLBOROUGH 


I7I4]      •  THE   HOUSE   OF   STUART  287 

George,  Elector  of  Hanover,  who  was  a  descendant  of  a 
sister  of  Charles  I.  England  had  had  a  Norman  king 
and  a  Dutch  king ;  now  she  was  to  be  ruled  by  a  Ger- 
man. 

SUMMARY 

Queen  Anne  s  reign  is  famous  for  the  excellence  of  its 
prose  literature  and  for  its  foreign  victories.  To  prevent  an 
alliance  between  France  and  Spain  and  to  protect  her  Amer- 
ican possessions,  England  declared  war  against  Louis  XIV. 
Under  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  there  were  brilliant  victories 
on  land,  and  under  Sir  Cloudesley  Shovel  the  strong  fortress 
of  Gibraltar  was  taken.  By  the  treaty  that  closed  the  war, 
England  gained  in  America  Nova  Scotia,  Newfoundland,  and 
a  vast  area  of  land  about  Hudson  Bay.  Scotland  and  Eng- 
land were  united,  though  the  union  was  not  heartily  desired 
by  either  country. 


288 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


E« 


"o  f^ 


w 

H 
Pi 

< 

w 

W     . 

HI  '"' 

H      4) 
fa      i 

o  •-> 

o 

<: 
w 
:z; 
w 
o 


Is 


O    h 


•i  r- 


s 

o 


CJ    N 


u>: 


sm\ 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER 
1714- 

30.  George  I.     1 714-1727 

247,  A  king  who  ruled  easily.  When  George  I. 
came  to  the  throne,  he  could  not  speak  a  word  of  the 
language  of  the  land  that  he  had  come  to  govern.  He 
did  not  think  that  it 
was  worth  while  to 
try  to  learn  it,  and 
therefore  he  and 
his  ministers  stam- 
mered on  as  well 
as  they  could  in 
the  best  Latin  that 
they  could  muster. 
George  did  not  like 
to  be  bored  by  mat- 
ters of  government, 
and  as  he  did  not 
know  enough  of  the 
prominent  men  of 
England  to  select 
his  own  cabinet,  he 

had  a  prime  minister  to  do  it  for  him.  He  did  not  find 
it  difficult  to  rule  a  country,  he  simply  signed  whatever 
bill  Parliament  presented.  The  rest  of  his  time  he 
spent  in  eating,  drinking,  smoking,  playing  cards,  and 


GEORGE   I. 


290  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1715 

being  amused  in  a  slow,  cumbersome  fashion  at  what- 
ever jests  any  one  would  take  the  trouble  to  explain  to 
him.  He  seemed  so  bored  by  his  new  sovereignty  that 
James  Edward  and  his  friends  fancied  that  the  king 
might  be  glad  to  be  relieved  of  his  crown,  and  actually 
ventured  to  write  him  a  letter  inquiring  whether  he 
would  not  like  to  resign  in  favor  of  James. 

248.  Dissatisfaction.  There  was  a  reason  why  many 
in  England  were  feeling  dissatisfied.  People  had  gradu- 
wugsand  ^^^Y  become  divided  into  Whigs  and  Tories. 
Tories.  xhe  Whigs  favored  increasing  the  power  of  the 
people  ;  .the  Tories,  that  of  the  king  and  the  church.  The 
coming  of  George  had  been  brought  about  by  the  Whigs, 
and  he  agreed  to  whatever  they  wished  to  do.  Naturally, 
the  Tories  were  not  contented  to  have  no  share  in  the 
government.  Moreover,  whatever  there  was  left  in  Eng- 
land of  the  notion  of  the  "  divine  right  "  of  a  king  was  in 
the  minds  of  these  Tories,  and  they  had  never  quite  for- 
gotten that  the  heir  to  the  king  who  had  been  driven 
from  his  throne  was  just  across  the  Channel. 

249.  Attempts  of  the  Pretender.  For  these  two 
reasons,  the  feeling  that  George  did  not  care  enough  for 
his  throne  to  fight  for  it,  and  the  dissatisfaction  of  the 
Tories,  who  were  shut  out  from  any  share  in  the  govern- 
ment, James  Edward,  the  "  Pretender,"  thought  it  a 
good  time  to  try  to  regain  the  lost  crown  ;  and  so  it 
came  about  that  in  Scotland  one  Monday  morning  the 
drums  beat  and  the  bagpipes  played,  and  a  long  paper 
was  read  declaring  that  "James  VIII."  was  "by  the 
grace  of  God  King  of  Scotland,  England,  France,  and 
Ireland."  Battles  followed  ;  one  was  indecisive  and 
one  resulted  in  a  surrender.  Still  James  Edward  hoped, 
and  he  hurried  over  to  Scotland  with  only  six  followers. 
Unfortunately  for  his  cause,  the  more  people  saw  of  him. 


1715] 


THE   HOUSE   OF  HANOVER 


291 


COSTUME  OF  GENTLEMAN, 
/I72I 


the  less  enthusiasm  they  felt.  He 
was  heavy  and  slow,  and  seemed  to 
have  no  interest  in  the  men  who  were 
risking  so  much  in  their  eagerness 
to  support  him.  He  was  particular 
to  demand  as  many  attendants  as 
if  he  had  been  really  king,  and  he 
roused  himself  enough  to  name  a 
day  for  his  coronation,  but  that  was 
all.  When  King  George's  forces 
were  upon  them,  the  courageous 
Scotchmen  wished  to  put  James 
Edward  in  the  midst  of  his  support- 
ers and  fight  till  the  last  man  fell ; 
but  their  proclaimed  king  preferred 
not  to  fight ;  and  he  quietly  sailed  away  to  France,  leav- 
ing his  brave  friends  to  manage  as  best  they  could. 

There  were  great  efforts  made  to  rescue  the  leaders  of 
this  conspiracy  from  the  sentence  of  the  courts.  The 
wife  of  one  of  those  who  had  been  condemned  „    ^ 

Treatment 

to  die  contrived  to  gain  access  to  King  George  of  the  con- 
to  beg  his  mercy  for  her  husband.  She  caught  *^  '*  °"" 
hold  of  the  skirt  of  his  coat,  and  the  stout  old  king 
dragged  her  half-way  across  the  room,  while  she  struggled 
to  put  her  petition  into  his  pocket.  That  attempt  was 
not  a  success,  but  she  did  contrive  to  smuggle  a  suit  of 
women's  slothes  into  her  husband's  cell,  and  he  slipped 
away.  The  government  seemed  not  at  all  unwilling  that 
the  captives  should  escape,  and  apparently  took  little 
pains  to  guard  tHem.  ^  number  of  prisoners  had  been 
taken  from  Scotland  for  trial,  though  the  Scotch  con- 
tended that  they  ought  to  be  tried  where  the  offense 
had  been  committed.  The  English  would  not  yield  the 
point,  but  in  order  not  to  put  too  great  ^  a  strain  upon 


292  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1720 

the  new  union  between  the  two  countries,  the  courts 
were  careful  to  pronounce  no  sentence  of  capital  punish- 
ment upon  these  men.  No  such  consideration  was  shown 
for  Ireland,  and  a  bill  was  passed  at  about  this  time  de- 
claring that  the  English  Parliament  had  the  right  to  make 
laws  for  that  country.  Not  many  years  later,  Roman 
Catholics  were  forbidden  to  become  members  of  the 
Irish  Parliament.  This  meant  that  five-sixths  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Ireland  had  no  representation  whatever. 

260.  The  South  Sea  Bubble.  The  reign  of  George  I. 
is  always  associated  with  a  financial  scheme  that  —  after 
it  failed  —  was  called  the  South  Sea  Bubble,  and  that 
resulted  in  ruin  to  many  thousand  Englishmen.  This  is 
the  way  that  it  came  about.  The  South  Sea  Company 
had  special  privileges  of  trade  in  the  southern  oceans, 
and  the  members  had  become  immensely  rich.  Eng- 
land had  a  large  national  debt,  and  its  bonds  were  held 
chiefly  by  Englishmen.  This  South  Sea  Company  now 
said  to  the  government :  — 

"  We  will  give  you  seven  and  one  half  million  pounds 
if  you  will  persuade  people  to  exchange  your  bonds  for 
ours ;  and  we  shall  be  satisfied  with  a  smaller  rate  of 
interest  than  you  have  been  paying  these  people.  We 
can  afford  to  do  this  because  it  will  be  worth  so  much  to 
us  to  have  a  regular  income  from  you,  even  if  it  is  not  a 
large  one  ;  and  we  can  then  increase  our  trade  so  that  we 
can  pay  large  dividends  to  those  who  have  given  up  your 
bonds  for  ours." 

This  looked  well  on  paper,  and  soon  the  stock  sold  for 
ten  times  what  it  was  worth.  Then  came  the  sudden 
The  bubble  collapse,  and  people  who  had  paid  ten  times  its 
breaks.  value  lost  nine  tenths  of  their  money.  The 
government  officials,  with  the  exception  of  Sir  Robert 
Walpole,  had   encouraged  the  scheme,   and   the   losers 


1720-1727]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER 


293 


were  angry  with  them.  This  was  hardly  fair,  for  it  was 
a  time  when  everybody  seemed  to  be  wild  to  make  all 
sorts  of  foolish  investments.  People  were  ready  to  put 
their  money  into  anything.  One  man  is  said  to  have 
advertised  that  he  knew  of  a  good  scheme  for  making  a 
fortune,  and  that  if  people  would  give  him  their  money  to 
invest,  he  would  tell  them  later  what  the  scheme  was. 
In  one  forenoon 
he  actually  took 
in. two  thousand 
pounds. 

251.  Origin  of 
some  customs 
of  government. 
As  Walpole  was 
the  most  pro- 
minent one  of 
those  that  had  op- 
posed the  South 
Sea  Bubble,  peo- 
ple began  to  feel 
much  confidence 
in  him.  He  was 
really  the  ruler 
of  England  for 
some  years,  and 
it  is  in  great  de- 
gree   according 

to  his  arrangement  that  the  government  of  that  country 
is  in  many  of  its  details  carried  on  to-day.  For  a  long 
time,  whoever  ruled  England  had  been  accustomed  to 
select  a  little  group  of  special  advisers  that  had  re- 
ceived the  name  of  cabinet,  because  they  met  in  a  small 
room,  or  cabinet,  instead  of  in  the  large  council  cham- 


SIR    ROBERT    WALPOLE 


294  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [i  720-1 738 

ber.  George  1.  knew  so  little  of  England  and  her  states- 
men that  the  selection  of  the  royal  cabinet  was  left 
to  Walpole ;  and  as  the  king  understood  no  English,  he 
did  not  attend  their  meetings.  That  is  why  to-day  the 
prime  minister  selects  the  cabinet  and  the  king  does  not 
meet  with  them.  The  prime  minister  chooses  men  with 
whose  ideas  the  House  of  Commons  will  be  likely  to 
agree ;  but  if  the  House  should  refuse  to  support  the 
cabinet  in  any  important  measure,  the  sovereign  may 
either  dissolve  Parliament  in  the  expectation  that  a  new 
election  will  bring  in  men  who  will  be  in  harmony  with 
the  cabinet,  or  he  may  choose  a  new  prime  minister  from 
among  those  that  oppose  the  present  cabinet.  The 
result  of  this  plan  is  that  no  man  can  remain  prime  min- 
ister if  the  House  of  Commons  disapproves  of  his  policy. 

SUMMARY 

The  lax  rule  of  George  I.  gave  all  power  into  the  hands  of 
the  Whigs,  and  left  Sir  Robert  Walpole  free  to  introduce 
many  forms  and  details  of  government  that  have  remained  in 
force  for  nearly  two  centuries.  Encouraged  by  the  discontent 
of  the  Tories,  the  Scotch  friends  of  the  Pretender  made  an 
unsuccessful  effort  in  his  behalf.  About  the  middle  of  the 
reign,  a  frenzy  for  foolish  investments  swept  over  the  land. 
The  failure  of  these,  and  especially  of  the  South  Sea  Bubble, 
reduced  large  numbers  to  poverty. 

31.   George  H.    .1727-1760 

252.  Rise  of  Methodism.  One  important  event  of 
the  early  part  of  this  reign  was  the  rise  of  Methodism. 
The  masses  of  the  people,  especially  in  the  large  cities, 
were  ignorant  and  degraded,  and  neither  state  nor  church 
seemed  to  realize  that "  they  needed  help.  Cock-fighting 
and  bull-baiting  were  their  favorite  amusements,  drunken- 


1738] 


THE    HOUSE   OF   HANOVER 


295 


JOHN    WESLEY 


ness  was  their  delight.  Nor 
was  this  state  of  things 
limited  to  those  who  were 
otherwise  degraded.  Some 
of  the  most  prominent  men 
of  the  nation  felt  that  at  a 
banquet  it  was  not  showing 
a  proper  appreciation  of  the 
hospitality  of  their  host  if 
they  did  not  drink  of  his 
wines  until  they  could  no 
longer  sit  uj^ight  in  their 
chairs. 

It  was  certainly  time  for  something  to  arouse  the 
country,  and  the  awakening  came  by  the  efforts  of  John 
Wesley  and  a  few  other  men.  They  were  nicknamed 
Methodists  because  they  lived  so  methodically  and  met 
so  regularly  for  prayer  and  preaching.  John  Wesley 
and  his  brother  Charles  and  another  clergyman  named 
Whitefield  went  over  the  land  on  horseback  and  preached 
wherever  any  one  would  listen.  The  result  of  this  small 
beginning  was  that  many  thousands  in  both  England  and 
America  began  to  see  that  there  was  something  better  in 
life  than  the  carelessness  or  coarse  ignorance  in  which 
they  had  lived. 

253.  Walpole  and  the  king.  The  kings  of  the  House 
of  Hanover  were  always  at  odds  with  the  next  heir  to  the 
throne.  So  far  as  the  peace  of  England  was  concerned, 
that  was  not  so  bad  a  condition  of  affairs,  since,  if  the 
king  was  a  Whig,  the  eldest  son  was  reasonably  sure  to 
be  a  Tory;  and  while  the  Whigs  were  happy  because 
they  were  in  power,  the  Tories  were  content  to  wait  in 
the  certainty  that  their  turn  would  come.  George  I.  and 
his  wife  really  seemed  to  hate  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and 


296 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1741 


the  prince  was  so  opposed  to  his  father  that  when  he  him- 
self became  king,  every  one  expected  that  Walpole  would 
be  turned  out  of  office.  This  would  surely  have  been 
the  case  had  not  Queen  Caroline  favored  his  remaining 
George  11.  would  often  refuse  to  hear  a  word  from  the 
prime  minister  about  some  subject  upon  which  they  dif- 
fered, but  Walpole  would  take  it  all  serenely  and  explain 
to  the  queen  what  was  best  for  the  king  to  do.  "  And 
when  I  give  her  her  lesson,"  said  Walpole,  ''she  can 
make  him  propose  the  very  thing  as  his  own  opinion 
which  a  week  before  he  had  rejected  as  mine." 

264.  War  of  the  Austrian  succession,  ^i  The  subject 
on  which  Walpole  and  the  king  most  frequently  differed 
was  that  of  war,  for  George  II.  was  an  excellent  soldier, 
and  was  eager  to  win  military  glory.  Walpole  always 
favored  peace,  and  for  twelve  years  he  managed  to  pre- 
»  vent  the  king  from 

fighting.  At  last, 
after  fifteen  years  of 
service,  Walpole  was 
removed  from  office. 
There  was  now  no 
influence  to  keep  the 
king  from  warfare, 
and  George  felt  that 
there  was  good  rea- 
son for  drawing  his 
sword.  Maria  The- 
resa, daughter  of  the 
emperor  of  Germany, 
had  succeeded  to  the 
throne  of  Austria. 
France, supported  by 
several   other   coun- 


GEORGE   II. 


I743-I745]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  297 

tries,  attempted  to  seize  portions  of  the  Austrian  terri- 
tories.   England  preferred  to  have  Austria  stronger  than 
France,  and  therefore  upheld  the  rights  of  Maria  Theresa. 
War  ensued.    George  went  to  Bavaria,  where  the  fighting 
was  likely  to  be,  and  at  the  battle  of  Dettingen  he  led 
his  own  soldiers.     He  could  talk  English,  if  his    ^ggt  fight- 
father  could  not,  and  he  sprang  from  his  horse  ^e  of  an 
and  cried  to  his  troops,  "  Now,  boys,  now  for  king, 
the  honor  of  England  ;  be  brave,  and  the  French  ^^*^' 
will  run."     The  French  did  run,  and  this  was  the  last 
time  that  an  English  king  appeared  on  the  battlefield. 

Europe  called  this  contest  the  War  of  the  Austrian 
Succession,  but  the  Americans  called  it  King  George's 
War.  Of  course,  the  American  colonists  fought,  English 
against  French,  and  just  as  fiercely  as  if  it  made  any  great 
difference  to  them  who  sat  on  the  throne  of  Austria. 
The  most  famous  action  in  America  was  the  cap-  capture  of 
ture  of  a  strong  fortress  on  Cape  Breton  Island,  Louisburg. 
named  Louisburg.  The  soldiers  were  chiefly  men  from 
New  England  who  did  not  know  a  great  deal  about  be- 
sieging forts,  and  were  a  little  inclined  to  make  fun  of  the 
military  discipline  and  manoeuvring.  Nevertheless,  they 
took  the  fort,  but  when  people  saw  its  thick  walls  and  its 
powerful  defences,  every  one  wondered  how  the  deed 
had  been  done.  The  New  Englanders  were  proud  of 
this  exploit,  as  well  they  might  have  been  ;  and  they  were 
decidedly  indignant  when  by  the  treaty  that  closed  the 
war,  Louisburg  was  given  back  to  France. 

255.  Last  effort  of  the  Stuarts.  Walpole  had 
always  said  that  whenever  England  went  to  war  with 
Frajice,  there  would  be  an  attempt  made  to  restore  the 
Stuarts  to  their  throne,  and  this  came  to  pass  before  the 
War  of  the  Austrian  Succession  was  ended.  Many  a 
Scotchman  was  singing :  — 


298  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [i  745-1 746 

**  I  swear  by  moon  and  stars  sae  bright, 
And  the  sun  that  glances  early, 
If  I  had  twenty  thousand  lives, 
I  'd  gie  them  a'  for  Charhe. 

We  '11  over  the  water  and  over  the  sea, 
We  '11  over  the  water  to  Charlie  ; 
Come  weel,  come  woe,  we  '11  gather  and  go, 
And  live  and  die  wi'  Charlie."  ^ 

James  Edward  did  not  attempt  to  come  again,  but  his 

son,  Charles  Edward,  who  is  called  both  "  Prince 

"Young       Charlie"   and  the   "Young  Pretender,"   came 

Pretender."    ^^^^   ^^^  ^^^  j^   ^.^   f^^j^gj-'g    behalf   with  only 

seven  companions  and  landed  in  the  north  of  Scotland. 

His  first  shelter  was  the  house  of  a  Highlander.  Prince 
Charlie  was  accustomed  to  the  luxury  of  a  chimney,  and 
the  peat-smoke,  which  had  no  outlet  but  the  hole  in  the 
roof,  was  suffocating  to  him,  and  when  he  had  borne  it  as 
long  as  he  could,  he  would  shp  out  into  the  open  air. 
Finally  the  host,  not  knowing  who  was  his  guest,  ex- 
claimed, "  What  is  the  matter  with  the  fellow  that  he 
can't  stay  in  th'e  house  or  out  of  it  ?  "  The  prince's  first 
adviser  told  him  he  would  better  go  home.  "  I  am  come 
home,"  said  he  cheerfully,  and  he  set  to  work  to  regain 
for  his  father  the  crown  that  James  H.  had  lost.  At 
first  fortune  favored  him,  and  his  Scotch  friends  sang: — 

"  Oh,  he  's  been  lang  o'  coming, 
Lang,  lang,  lang  o'  coming; 
Oh,  he 's  been  lang  o'  coming ; 
Welcome,  royal  Charlie."  ^ 

This  success  did  not  last  long,  for  a  terrible  battle 
was  fought  at  Culloden,  and  Prince  Charlie  had  to  flee. 
A  reward  of  thirty  thousand  pounds  was  offered  for  his 

^  From  Yiog^s  Jacobite  Relics. 

2  From  Peter  Buchan's  Prince  Charlie  atid  Flora  Macdonald, 


1746-1756]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER 


299 


capture,  but  by  the  aid  of  a  faithful  Highland  woman 
named  Flora  Macdonald,  he  succeeded  after  all   cuuoden. 
sorts  of  romantic  adventures  in  reaching  France  ^^*^- 
in  safety.     This  was  the  end  of  the  Jacobite  attempts  to 
restore  the  crown  to 
the  Stuarts,  and  any 
stray        enthusiasm 
that    still    exists   in 
their  behalf  is  mani- 
fested chiefly  by  lay- 
ing wreaths   at  the 
foot  of  the  statue  of 
Charles  I.  on  Janu- 
ary 30,  the  anniver- 
sary of  his  execution ; 
for    the    people    of 
England  as  a  whole 
were  convinced  once 
for  all  that  it  is  bet- 
ter to  have  a  sove- 
reign who  rules  for 
the  good  of  the  na- 
tion than  one  whose  only  claim  is  based  upon  a  few  more 
drops  of  the  blood  of  some  royal  ancestor. 

256.  The  Seven  Years'  War.  In  spite  of  the  peace- 
ful beginning  of  the  reign  of  George  IL,  there  was  war 
enough  before  its  end  to  satisfy  the  most  martial  of 
sovereigns.  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia  had  been  a 
determined  opponent  of  Maria  Theresa  in  the  War  of 
the  Austrian  Succession,  and  she  did  her  best  to  arouse 
France  and  several  other  countries  to  oppose  him. 
George  IL  was  afraid  that  his  own  Hanover  would  suffer, 
and  therefore  the  English  forces  were  drawn  into  what  is 
known  as  the  Seven  Years'  War.      The  chief  gain  to 


CHARLES   EDWARD   STUART    (PRINCE    CHARLIE) 


300 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1756-1758 


England  was  made  in  America,  for  as  usual  the  colonists 

fought.     The  English  were  on  one  side,  and  the  French, 

helped  by  the  Indians,  on  the  other.     This  is  why  the 

American  colonists  called  the  struggle  the  French  and 

Indian  War. 

The  real  point  at  issue  in  America  was,  who  should 

have  the  country.     The  English  had  settled  the  eastern 

«ri.    v   ,;.   coast  and  were   pushino:  on  to  the  west ;  the 
Wlio  shonld  ^  t>  ' 

French  had  begun  at  the  Saint  Lawrence  and 
the  Great  Lakes  and  had  built  forts  along  the 
Ohio  and  the  Mississippi.  The  first  contest  was  at  Fort 
Du  Quesne.    The  English  lost  because  General  Braddock 


have 
America  ? 


MALL   IN   ST.  James's    r/iKK    iiN    i/j6 

Showing  the  enormous  hoopskirts  then  worn  by  ladies 


could  not  believe  that  the  Indian  way  of  fighting  would 
be  different  from  that  of  the  English.  Young  George 
Washington  saved  the  remnant  of  the  English  troops 
and  afterwards  took  the  fort. 


1756-1759]        THE   HOUSE    OF   HANOVER 


301 


The  story  of 
Grand  V16. 


An  especially  pathetic  event  of  the  war  was  the  driv- 
ing of  several  thousand  French  settlers  from  their  homes 
in  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia.  These  settlers 
claimed  to  be  neutral,  but  England  was  con- 
vinced that  they  were  helping  the  French  ;  and  in  Grand 
Pre,  Annapolis,  and  other  places  the  houses  were  burned, 

IS  S"it£^t^-  ■HI '  'iill 

selves    put    on    board 
English     vessels     and 
scattered    among    the 
English  colonies  along 
the     coast.      By    this 
means     England    won 
Nova     Scotia,    but     it 
was  at  a  fearful  cost. 
There    is    a    tradition 
that  an  Aca- 
dian    maiden 
was  separated  from  her 
betrothed     lover,    and 
that    for    years    they 
wandered  in  search  of  each  other,  never  meeting  until 
the  time  of  their  youth  was  long  past  and  the  lover  was 
nigh    unto   death.      Longfellow   tells   the   story   in   his 
beautiful  poem  "Evangeline." 

The  greatest  victory  of  the  war  was  at  Quebec,  which 
was  defended  by  the  French  under  General  Montcalm. 
Above  the  town  was  a  cliff  which  the  sentinels  jjngiand 
guarded  carelessly  because  the  French  did  not  takes  Que- 

,  .    ,        ,  .  ,  n     ,  1-111  l>ec.    1759. 

thmk  that  it  could  be  climbed   by  an   army. 
General  Wolfe,  the  English  commander,  led  his  men  up 
this  cliff  by  night  and  captured  the  city.      This  con- 
quest gave  England  control  of  Canada,  so  that  she  came 


"  Evange- 
line." 


Mi  ii  i 

JAMES   WOLFE 


302  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1756-1759 

out  of  the  war  with  Nova  Scotia,  Canada,  and  also  Flor- 
ida, which  fell  into  her  hands  by  an  arrangement  between 
France  and  Spain.  There  was  now  no  question  that 
the  whole  continent  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi 
River  would  belong  to  England. 

257.  The  English  in  India.  While  England  was 
gaining  an  empire  in  America,  a  trading  company  was 
gaining  one  for  her  in  India.  This  East  India  Company 
had  been  in  existence  for  two  hundred  years,  but  it  had 
merely  established  trading  posts  and  had  made  no  at- 
tempt to  rule  the  country.  The  French,  too,  wished  to 
trade  in  India,  and  they  had  also  established  posts  ;  but 
they  had  joined  with  some  of  the  native  princes  in 
their  opposition  to  the  rule  of  the  others,  and  it  began 
to  look  as  if  the  English  company  would  be  driven  away. 
There  was  at  first  no  good  English  leader,  but  soon  one 
appeared,  though  from  the  desk  of  a  clerk,  the  last  place 
where  one  would  look  for  a  general.  Young  Robert  Clive 
was  employed  by  the  company,  and  he  persuaded  them  to 
let  him  try  to  repulse  the  French  and  their  native  allies. 
_  _   ,      He  was  successful,   but   not   Ions:  afterwards, 

The  Black  ° 

Hole  of  cai-  while  Clive  was  in  England,  the  Prince  of  Ben- 
*'*"^'  gal  attacked  Calcutta,  captured  the  fort,  and 

drove  more  than  seven-score  English  into  one  small  room. 
After  the  intense  heat  of  an  Indian  night,  there  remained 
in  the  morning  but  twenty-three  alive ;  the  others  had 
died  a  most  agonizing  death  from  suffocation.  This 
prison  was  called  the  *'  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta." 

Clive  returned.     He  must  punish  the  Prince  of  Ben- 
gal, but  the  prince  had  twenty-five  times  as  many  men 
as  he.     Clive  called  a  council  of  war,  and  the 
majority  of  the  officers  said  that  victory  was 
impossible.     So  said  the  commander,  but  after  an  hour's 
thought,  he  changed  his  mind  and  gave  orders  for  an 


1757] 


THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER 


303 


attack  in  the  morning.     He  was  successful,  and  the  Eng- 
lish rule  in  India  was  established. 

258.  Unpopularity  of  the  king.  England  appre- 
ciated the  soldierly  abilities  of  her  king,  and  rejoiced  in 
the  vast  amount  of  territory  in  both  the  Old  World  and 
the  New  that  came  under  EngUsh  rule  while  he  was  on 
the  throne ;  but  he  was  never  a  popular  sovereign,  and 
he  often  seemed  far  more  interested  in  the  well-being  of 
his  little  Hanover  than  in  that  of  England.  At  a  time 
when  his  English  subjects  were  especially  anxious  to 
have  him  remain  in 
their  land,  he  went  to 
Germany,  and  there  he 
stayed  for  many  months. 
Some  one  is  said  to  have 
put  a  notice  on  the  door 
of  his  palace  :  "  Lost 
or  strayed  out  of  this 
house,  a  man  who  has 
left  a  wife  and  six  chil- 
dren  on  the  parish. 
Whoever  will  give  any 
tidings  of  him  to  the 
church-wardens  of  Saint 
James's  parish  so  as  he 
may  be  got  again,  will 

receive  four  shillings  and  sixpence.  N.  B.  This  reward 
will  not  be  increased,  nobody  judging  him  to  deserve  a 
crown." 

269.  The  novel  of  home  life.  Together  with  the 
gain  in  territory,  there  was  also  a  gain  in  the  literary 
world,  for  the  novel  of  home  life  came  into  being.  It  is 
possible  that  all  the  foreign  war  that  was  going  on  made 
the  English  feel  a  deeper  love  for  their  own  homes  and 


ROBERT   CLIVE 


4 

304  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1752 

the  people  about  them.  However  that  may  be,  it  was  in 
this  reign  that  story-tellers  began  to  describe  everyday 
places  and  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  everyday  people. 
Before  this,  writers  had  seemed  to  feel  that  no  story 
could  be  interesting  unless  its  scene  was  laid  in  "  a 
country  a  long  way  off,"  or  its  characters  went  through 
a  series  of  the  most  amazing  adventures.  Some  of  these 
novels  are  very  long,  and  the  story  "  moves  "  so  slowly 
that  our  age  finds  them  tedious,  while,  according  to  the 
present  taste,  others  are  vulgar  in  their  incidents  and 
coarse  in  their  conversation.  Nevertheless,  it  was  a 
great  gain  to  find  that  the  thoughts  and  actions  of  people 
who  were  neither  rich  nor  famous  were  yet  full  of 
interest. 

260.  A  new  calendar,  1752.  One  peculiar  fact  about 
this  reign  is  that  it  was  really  eleven  days  shorter  than 
the  dates  of  its  beginning  and  end  would  seem  to  show. 
In  reckoning  time,  the  year  had  not  been  made  quite 
long  enough ;  that  is,  the  almanac  year  was  not  quite  so 
long  as  the  sun's  year,  and  when  January  i,  for  instance, 
came  around,  the  sun  was  a  little  farther  ahead  than  it 
had  been  on  the  preceding  January  i.  In  the  course  of 
centuries,  that  difference  had  amounted  to  about  eleven 
days,  and  now  England  made  the  correction,  and  the  day 
that  would  have  been  September  3,  1752,  was  called 
September  14.  The  Roman  Catholic  countries  had 
made  this  change  in  Elizabeth's  reign,  but  England  did 
not  wish  to  do  anything  that  the  pope  had  ordered,  and 
so  she  had  delayed.  As  it  was,  there  was  great  opposi- 
tion, for  many  people  felt  that  in  some  mysterious  way 
they  had  been  cheated  out  of  those  eleven  days.  Until 
then,  the  year  had  begun  March  25,  when  the  sun  first 
came  north  of  the  equator,  but  after  this  the  years  were 
counted  from  January  i. 


1760]  THE    HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  305 

SUMMARY 

By  the  efforts  of  Whitefield  and  the  Wesleys,  Methodism 
caused  a  great  religious  awakening  in  both  England  and 
America.  The  influence  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole  kept  the  land 
at  peace  for  many  years,  but  after  his  removal  from  office, 
George  II.  engaged  in  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession 
to  uphold  the  claims  of  Maria  Theresa  and  prevent  the  power 
of  France  from  increasing.  During  this  war  Charles  Edward 
made  an  attempt  to  regain  the  English  throne.  His  defeat 
at  Culloden  ended  the  efforts  of  the  Stuarts  to  wear  the 
crown  of  England. 

To  protect  Hanover,  George  II.  engaged  in  the  Seven 
Years'  War.  The  result  in  America  was  that  the  continent, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
England.  The  French,  allied  with  native  princes,  attempted 
to  force  the  East  India  Company  from  India.  By  the  mili- 
tary genius  of  Clive  the  company's  rights  were  maintained, 
and  India  fell  under  English  rule. 

In  the  literary  world,  the  novel  of  home  life  first  appeared. 
In  1752  England  adopted  the  corrected  calendar,  and  hence- 
forth the  years  began  on  the  first  of  January. 

32.  George  III.     1 760-1 820 

261.  George  III.  means  to  rule.  As  George  I.  was 
somev^rhat  bored  by  v^ielding  the  sceptre  and  George  II. 
was  under  the  control  of  whoever  had  the  tact  to  manage 
him,  the  power  of  the  ministers,  and  in  particular,  those 
of  the  Whig  party,  had  been  on  the  increase  for  half  a 
century.  When  George  III.  came  to  the  throne,  he  was 
only  twenty-two  years  of  age,  but  he  had  one  very  dis- 
tinct idea  in  his  mind,  and  that  was  that  the  king  instead 
of  his  ministers  should  rule  the  land. 

So  far  there  was  nothing  in  his  determination  that  was 
unlike  the  notions  of  the  Stuarts ;  but  the  difference 


3o6 


ENGLAND^S   STORY 


[i  760-1 765 


was  that  while  the  Stuarts  wished  to  rule  for  themselves 
and  their  own  gain,  George  III.  was  sincerely  anxious  to 
do  what  was  for  the  gain  of  the  country.    He  was  a  good, 

kind-hearted  man, 
who  always  meant 
to  do  what  was  right. 
He  was  obstinate, 
but  his  obstinacy 
was  not  exactly  wil- 
fulness ;  it  was  ra- 
ther an  inability  to 
see  that  there  was 
any  other  way  than 
the  one  that  he  had 
chosen. 

262.  Trouble 
with  America.  The 
first  difficulty  of  his 
reign  was  with  the 
English  colonists  in 
America.  England, 
like  other  European 
countries,  looked 
upon  a  colony  not  as  a  part  of  herself,  but  simply  as  a 
community  forming  a  convenient  market  for  the  manu- 
factures of  the  mother  country,  and  affording  opportuni- 
ties for  a  favored  few  to  make  money.  Laws  had  been 
passed  forbidding  the  colonists  to  make  anything  for 
themselves  and  limiting  their  trade,  each  law  so  framed 
that  it  should  be  to  the  advantage  of  England,  and  with 
no  thought  for  the  good  of  the  colonies.  Matters  were 
brought  to  a  head  by  Parliament's  passing  the  "  Stamp 
Act,"  requiring  a  stamp,  bolight  of  England,  to  be  placed 
on  every  book,  legal  paper,  etc.     Parliament  said  that  as 


GEORGE   III. 


1765]  THE   HOUSE    OF   HANOVER  307 

by  the  French  and  Indian  War  the  colonists  had  been 
freed  from  fear  of  the  French,  it  was  only  fair  for  them 
to  pay  part  of  the  expense  of  the  war.  The  colonists  felt 
that  in  men  and  in  money  they  had  given  their  full  share, 
but  their  protest  was  not  made  for  this  reason  ;  it  was 
made  because,  as  they  had  no  representatives  in  Parlia- 
ment, this  requirement  of  a  stamp  would  be  taxation 
without  representation,  and  this,  they  said,  was  not  ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  England. 

There  were  strong  sympathizers  even  in  Parliament. 
William  Pitt,  who  had  formerly  been  prime  minister, 
appeared  in  the  House  of  Commons  wrapped  in  English 
flannels  and  leaning  upon  a  crutch.  He  told  sympathy, 
the  members  plainly  that  the  Americans  were  right,  and 
that  the  only  course  was  to  repeal  the  act.  Edmund 
Burke  would  not  enter  into  the  rights  of  the  question, 
but  in  a  most  eloquent  speech  he  made  clear  what  the 
result  of  this  foolish  treatment  of  the  colonies  would  be. 
Benjamin  Franklin  had  been  sent  to  England  to  speak 
for  the  colonists,  and  the  House  had  asked  him  many 
questions. 

"Will  the  Americans  pay  the  stamp  duty  if  it  is  mode- 
rated.?" they  asked. 

"  Never,"  said  Franklin,  "  unless  they  are  driven  to  it 
by  force  of  arms." 

"  Why  do  they  pay  duties  on  imported  goods  and  refuse 
to  pay  for  stamps }  "  asked  the  House. 

"  Because  they  can  use  or  not  use  imported  articles  as 
they  will ;  but  the  stamps  are  forced  upon  them,"  an- 
swered Franklin. 

"  Are  they  not  obliged  to  use  our  manufactures  } " 

"  No,"  said  Franklin.  "  They  are  wearing  your  cloth 
now,  but  before  their  old  clothes  are  worn  out,  they  can 
make  clothes  for  themselves." 


3o8 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1 766-1 770 


"  Can  they  raise  woel  enough  ?  " 

"Certainly,"  replied  Franklin.  "They  have  already 
agreed  to  use  no  more  lambs  for  food,  and  they  can  spin 
and  weave  in  their  own  houses." 

"  If  this  special  act  is  given  up,  will  they  acknowledge 
that  Parliament  has  the  right  to  tax  them  .? " 
"  Never,"  said  Franklin  quietly. 

In  spite  of  Franklin's  testimony,  however,  the  Stamp 
Act  was  passed  ;  and  when  it  was  finally  repealed,  there 
went  with  the  repeal  a  declaration 
that  Parliament  had  a  perfect  right 
to  impose  taxes  upon  the  colonists. 
If  they  had  been  contending  for 
the  money,  this  concession  would 
have  satisfied  them  for  the  time; 
but  since  they  were  making  a  stand 
for  the  principle  of  no  taxation 
without  representation,  such  a  re- 
peal only  made  matters  worse. 

It  seemed  impossible  for  Eng- 
land to  comprehend  that  the  colo- 
nists were  not  standing  for  pennies,  but  for  principles. 
The  tax  ^^^  when  Lord  North  became  prime  minister, 
on  tea.  \^q  thought  that  they  would  be  satisfied  if  all 
the  taxes  but  one  were  removed.  That  one  was  a  small 
tax  on  tea,  and  it  was  retained  not  only  to  show  that 
England  claimed  the  right  to  impose  a  tax,  but  also 
because  the  East  India  Company  was  in  trouble.  The 
colonists  used  a  great  deal  of  tea,  but  since  it  had  been 
taxed  in  this  wise,  they  had  refused  to  purchase  it, 
and  so  much  had  accumulated  that  the  company  was  on 
the  brink  of  failure.  It  had  been  a  law  that  this  com- 
pany should  pay  an  export  tax  on  the  tea  that  was  taken 
from  the  London  storehouses  to  be  sent  to  the  colonists  ; 


A   REVOLUTIONARY   STAMP 


I773-I77S]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER 


309 


and  also  an  import  tax  when  it  was  sold  to  dealer  in 
America.  England  now  agreed  to  allow  this  company 
to  sell  tea  in  America  subject  only  to  the  threepenny 
import  tax.  This  would  make  the  company's  tea  cheaper 
than  that  which  had  been  smuggled  into  America  from 
Holland.  The  colonists  would  buy  it,  the  company  would 
be  saved,  and  the 
right  of  taxation 
would  be  main- 
tained. 

So  England 
planned,  and  the 
tea  came  to  Amer- 
ica; but  no  one 
would  buy  it,  and 
the  trickery  made 
the  colonists  more 
indignant  than 
ever.  In  Charles- 
ton the  tea  was 
stored  in  damp 
cellars  and  soon 
spoiled.  In  Bos- 
ton some  men  dis- 
guised themselves 
as  Indians  and 
dropped  it  overboard.  England  was  angry,  and  she 
passed  several  laws  intended  to  hurt  .Boston  as  much  as 
possible.  So  far  there  had  not  been  much  union  among 
the  colonies,  but  at  this  they  felt  that  the  mother  country 
was  not  only  treating  them  with  injustice,  but  was  in- 
tentionally trying  to  work  them  injury,  and  they  were 
thoroughly  aroused. 

263.  The  American  Revolution.    English  troops  were 


WILLIAM    PITT,   THE    ELDER 


3IO  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1778 

sent  to  Boston.  Then  William  Pitt,  the  "  Great  Com- 
moner," rose  in  the  House  and  pleaded  for  the  removal 
of  the  troops  and  for  the  repeal  of  the  hostile  acts  of 
Parliament ;  for  this  alone,  he  said,  could  save  the  colonies 
to  England.  "  Every  motive  of  justice  and  of  policy,"  he 
declared,  *'of  dignity  and  of  prudence,  urges  you  to  allay 
the  ferment  in  America."  The  question  was  put  whether 
the  English  troops  should  be  removed  from  the  colonies. 
Even  the  king's  younger  brother  voted  for  the  removal, 
but  a  large  majority  were  in  favor  of  keeping  them  in 
America.  This  was  in  January,  1775,  and  in  April  the 
war  broke  out. 

England  found  that  Canada  stood  by  her.  Then  her 
plan  was  to  begin  in  New  England  and  work  to  the  west 
and  south,  conquering  one  group  of  colonies  after  an- 
Engiand's  Other.  Instead  of  this,  she  was  forced  from  New 
plan.  England,  and  did  not  succeed  in  cutting  New 

England  from  New  York  as  she  had  hoped.  France  was 
always  ready  to  oppose  England,  and  was  particularly  in 
France  aids  ^he  mood  for  such  opposition  now  that  Eng- 
America.  land  had  so  recently  taken  Canada  from  her. 
Lafayette,  a  rich  young  French  nobleman,  came  to 
help  America,  and  France  recognized  the  colonies,  not 
as  rebels,  but  as  an  independent  country.  Holland  and 
Spain  soon  took  the  same  ground.  There  was  little 
probability  that  England  would  win,  and  William  Pitt, 
or  Lord  Chatham,  for  he  had  become  a  nobleman,  urged 
her  to  make  any  concession  rather  than  lose  her  colonies. 
This  was  his  last  speech,  for  he  fainted  in  the  House,  and 
died  soon  after  he  had  been  carried  to  his  home.  Still 
England  persisted ;  and  even  when  the  ministers  yielded. 
King  George  was  so  determined  that  some  of  the  English 
called  the  struggle  "the  King's  War."  So  little  did  he 
understand  the  wisdom  of  Pitt's  demands  and  the  great- 


1780-1781]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  31I 

ness  of  his  ability,  that  when  the  House  of  Commons 
voted  to  honor  the  dead  statesman  by  a  public  funeral 
and  a  monument,  the  king  wrote  to  North  that  he  was 
"  rather  surprised."  Not  long  after  France  showed  her 
friendliness,  England  finally  came  to  the  point  of  offer- 
ing many  concessions,  but  it  was  too  late,  for  now  the 
colonists  were  determined  to  be  independent. 

For  seven  years  the  war  went  on.  The  British  plans 
failed  in  New  England,  in  the  Middle  States,  and  in  the 
South.  Finally,  in  1781,  the  surrender  of  the  England 
English  commander.  Lord  Cornwallis,  ended  y^®^*^- 
the  war.  George  III.  made  a  speech  to  Parliament  — 
which  his  ministers  wrote,  of  course  —  saying  that  he 
had  "offered"  to  declare  the  colonies  "free  and  inde- 
pendent states  ;  "  but  he  explained  a  few  lines  farther  on 
that  it  had  been  proved  "how  essential  monarchy  is  to 
the  enjoyment  of  constitutional  liberty  !  " 

264,  Gordon  Riots.  In  the  reign  of  George  III.  there 
was  a  revolution  in  America,  and  there  were  riots  in  Lon-* 
don,  troubles  and  revolt  in  Ireland,  war  with  France, 
and  a  second  war  with  the  American  states  —  enough, 
surely,  to  fill  one  reign,  even  if  it  was  a  long  one.  To 
make  matters  harder,  the  king  became  insane  a  few  years 
after  the  Revolution,  and  all  the  rest  of  his  life  he  was 
either  suffering  from  insanity  or  dreading  another  attack. 

The  riots  in  London  came  about  because  some  people 
were  still  worried  lest  the  Roman  Catholics  should  gain 
too  much  power.  There  were  many  old  laws  against 
them  ;  for  instance,  that  a  Protestant  son  could  seize  the 
estate  of  a  Roman  Catholic  father,  and  that  no  Roman 
Catholic  could  own  a  piece  of  land.  Although  these  laws 
were  not  enforced,  people  knew  that  they  ought  not  to 
remain  on  the  statute  books,  and  they  were  repealed. 
Suddenly  some  of  the  Scotch  were  greatly  alarmed,  fear- 


312  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1781 

ing  that  the  pope  would  become  a  power  in  the  land. 
Lord  Gordon,  a  fanatical  Scotchman,  was  a  member  of 
the  English  Parliament.  He  collected  fifty  or  sixty  thou- 
sand people  of  all  sorts  and  led  them  in  rioting  through 
London.  The  Roman  Catholic  chapels  of  foreign  minis- 
ters were  broken  into  and  robbed.  Judges  and  all  that 
had  anything  to  do  with  executing  the  laws  were  the 
special  aim  of  the  mob.  The  private  house  of  the  chief 
justice  was  sacked,  his  pictures,  manuscripts,  and  law 
library  were  destroyed ;  the  prison  was  broken  into  and 
the  prisoners  let  loose,  and  even  the  Bank  of  England 
was  attacked.  London  was  set  fire  to  in  many  different 
places.  For  four  days  the  city  was  in  terror  of  a  half- 
mad  fanatic  and  a  mob  of  riotous  people.  A  specially 
important  result  of  these  riots  was  that  the  English  saw 
with  their  own  eyes  just  what  a  frantic  rabble  would  do, 
and  when  somewhat  similar  scenes  occurred  in  France 
a  few  years  later,  they  realized  the  horrors  of  mob  law 
better  than  would  otherwise  have  been  possible. 

265.  Discontent  in  Ireland.  In  Ireland  there  had 
been  laws  against  Roman  Catholics,  and  here  they  had 
been  enforced.  The  Irish  Parliament  represented  Protest- 
ants of  the  Church  of  England  only,  a  small  part  of  the 
people  of  the  land.  England  looked  upon  Ireland  as  a 
colony  of  Englishmen  who  were  troubled  by  natives  ; 
and  even  these  English  were  treated  most  unfairly,  for 
England  had  not  yet  grasped  the  idea  that  the  more 
successful  her  colonies  were,  the  better  it  was  for  the 
mother  country.  Her  notion  of  a  colony  was  still  a  collec- 
tion of  people  to  whom  she  could  sell  her  manufactures. 
Just  as  she  had  forbidden  her  American  colonies  to  make 
anything  for  themselves  that  she  could  make  and  sell  to 
them,  so  she  forbade  the  Irish ;  and  at  one  time  she 
would  not  permit  them  to  sell  the  produce  of  their  farms 


1778-1789]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  313 

in  England,  lest  this  should  injure  the  English  farmers. 
The  Irish  felt  that  they  were  slaves,  and  they  longed  to 
be  strong  enough  to  revolt. 

After  France  had  declared  herself  in  favor  of  the 
American  colonies,  the  English  government  needed  more 
troops  than  could  easily  be  raised,  and  in  the  emergency 
Ireland  had  been  allowed  to  collect  and  drill  many  thou, 
sand  men.  When  these  men  were  all  ready  to  fight, 
Ireland  demanded  reforms.  England  hardly  dared  to 
refuse  when  so  many  trained  soldiers  were  backing  the 
demand,  and  some  of  the  severe  laws  against  commerce 
were  repealed ;  but  the  Roman  Catholics  and  the  Presby- 
terians were  still  forbidden  to  become  members  of  the 
Irish  Parliament,  or  to  have  a  word  to  say  about  making 
the  laws,  and  the  whole  island  was  governed  by  the  small 
number  of  members  of  the  Church  of  England.  No 
country  could  be  expected  to  remain  in  peace  and  friend- 
ship with  the  land  that  imposed  such  a  system  of  gov- 
ernment, and  before  many  years  had  passed  there  was 
trouble  again. 

266.  French  Revolution  of  1789.  Ireland  had  felt 
hopeful  because  of  the  success  of  the  American  colonies  ; 
and  this  same  success  had  done  much  to  bring  about  a 
revolution  in  France,  which  was  quite  a  different  matter 
from  the  steady  resistance  to  injustice  and  the  firm  de- 
termination to  be  free,  that  had  marked  the  movement 
in  America.  For  many  years  the  French  peasants  had 
been  terribly  oppressed.     There  was  much  of  ^ 

J      ^^  Oppression 

the  feudal  system  left  in  France,  but  while  the  of  Frencii 

nobles  enjoyed  its  advantages,  the  peasants  suf-  ^®***^*" 

fered  from  its  disadvantages ;  for  instance,  France  had 

wide,  finely  made  roads,  but  the  government  had  built 

them  by  forcing  the  peasants  to  work  without  wages. 

These  peasants  had  to  pay  toll  to  their  lord  if  they  crossed 


314 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1789 


a  river  ;  they  must  use  their  lord's  mill  and  his  wine-press, 
and  be  taxed  for  it.  They  were  taxed  if  they  sold  their 
grain.  They  were  taxed  if  they  stirred  and  if  they  did 
not  stir.  There  were  two  sets  of  taxes,  or  rather  three, 
for  the  lords  and  the  king  and  the  church  must  be  sup- 
ported.    In  return  for  all  this,  the  nobles  and  the  king 


THE   BASTILLE 


did  nothing.  The  worst  of  it  all  was  the  utter  hopeless- 
ness. A  peasant  might  be  a  soldier,  but  only  a  noble 
could  become  an  officer.  A  peasant  might  possibly 
become  a  parish  priest,  but  only  a  noble  could  become  a 
bishop.  There  was  no  way  out,  no  chance  of  freedom. 
To  be  sure,  matters  were  no  worse  at  this  time  than  they 
had  been  for  years  past,  but  the  peasants  had  borne  just 
as  long  as  they  could  bear,  and  the  outbreak  came. 

In  Paris  there  was  a  strong'  prison  called  the  Bastille. 
It  had  many  stone  towers  and  a  moat  and  a  drawbridge. 


1789-1793]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  315 

When  a  noble  wished  to  get  rid  of  a  man,  he  would 
obtain  from  the  king  a  letter  ordering  the  man  T^e 
sent  to  this  prison,  and  there  he  would  be  taken  Bastiue. 
without  trial  and  sometimes  even  without  any  charge 
being  brought  against  him;  and  there  he  would  stay, 
often  all  the  rest  of  his  life.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the 
Paris  mob  first  attacked  the  Bastille,  and  that  they  left 
not  one  stone  upon  another.  When  this  was  told  to  the 
king,  he  said,  "  It  is  a  riot."  "  No,  sire,  a  revolution,"  said 
the  officer,  and  so  it  was,  one  of  the  most  fearful  revo- 
lutions in  all  history.  The  poor  people  seemed  to  lose 
all  reason  and  all  humanity.  It  was  enough  that  a  man 
was  a  noble  —  kill  him.  They  remembered  that  in  time 
of  famine  a  certain  rich  man  had  said,  "  If  the  peasants 
are  hungry,  let  them  eat  grass."  They  dragged  the  old 
man  into  the  city  with  a  bundle  of  grass  on  his  back. 
"  Do  not  murder  him,  take  him  to  the  courts,"  said  La- 
fayette. "Why  should  he  be  tried.?"  shouted  the  mob. 
"He  has  been  judged  these  thirty  years,"  and  in  a  mo- 
ment he  was  hanged.  So  it  was  in  many  parts  of  France. 
The  peopje  were  like  ravening  wild  beasts.  Nobles  who 
had  been  kind  to  the  peasants  about  them  were  murdered 
simply  because  they  were  nobles.  The  king  and  the 
royal  family  were  captured  by  the  mob  and  imprisoned. 
The  whole  nation  was  raging.  A  dear  friend  of  the 
queen's  was  beheaded  because  she  would  not  say  that  she 
hated  her  sovereign.  The  bloody  head  was  fastened  to 
a  pole  and  thrust  up  under  the  queen's  window.  The 
headsman  with  his  axe  could  not  work  fast  enough,  and 
the  guillotine  was  invented.  At  last,  in  1793,  Execution  oi 
the  king,  Louis  XVI.,  was  put  to  death,  less  for  Louis  xvi. 
his  own  sins  than  for  those  of  his  fathers.  He 
was  a  kind-hearted  man  who  would  have  been  glad  to 
treat  the  poor  fairly,  but  he  was  not  determined  enough 


3l6  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1793 

to  break  through  the  customs  and  beliefs  of  those  who  had 
reigned  before  him,  and  not  strong  enough  to  overcome 
the  opposition  of  the  nobles. 

At  first  there  was  in  England  enthusiastic  sympathy 
with  the  French  Revolution.  The  English  felt  that  they 
had  obliged  their  sovereigns  to  rule  justly  and  for  the 
good  of  the  people,  and  this  was  what  they  thought  the 
French  were  trying  to  do.  English  statesmen  were  de- 
lighted, and  English  poets  wrote  songs  in  praise  of  the 
glories  of  liberty  ;  but  soon  they  saw  that  this  was  not  a 
struggle  for  justice,  it  was  a  wild,  mad  slaughter,  for  after 
the  death  of  the  king  there  was  in  France  a  horrible. 
Reign  of  savage  lime  called  the  Reign  of  Terror.  One 
Terror.  ^^LU  after  another  had  the  lead.  Conspiracies 
were  formed  ;  multitudes  of  innocent  persons  were  guil- 
lotined. From  the  Gordon  riots  the  English  could  ima- 
gine the  furies  of  the  mob  of  French,  far  more  excitable 
and  less  self -controlled  than  the  English.  They  saw  that 
the  three  watchwords  of  the  revolutionists,  "  Liberty, 
equality,  fraternity,"  meant:  liberty — that  they  might 
do  as  they  pleased ;  equality  —  that  every  one  should  be 
dragged  down  to  their  own  level ;  fraternity  —  that  they 
and  their  partisans  would  oppose  all  others. 

267.  "War  with  France.  The  masses  of  people  in 
England  were  eager  for  war  with  France.  The  atrocities 
of  the  French  Revolution  had  horrified  them.  Perhaps 
they  felt  even  more  keenly  the  execution  of  the  sovereign 
of  France  because  they  had  become  very  fond  of  their 
simple,  talkative  old  king,  and  seemed  to  have  forgotten 
all  about  his  earlier  blunders.  He  went  about  among  his 
subjects,  chatting  with  them  in  most  familiar  fashion,  and 
asking  them  questions  as  naturally  as  if  they  were  his 
own  children.  "  How  did  the  apple  ever  get  into  the 
apple  dumpling  ? "  and  "  Pray  tell  me  how  you  set  a  trap 


1793]  THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  317 

to  catch  a  mouse  with  toasted  cheese  ? "  the  king  queried. 
His  subjects  liked  him  all  the  better  for  his  childlike 
talk,  and  they  were  heartily  indignant  at  any  impertinent 
criticism  of  the  man  upon  whom  they  looked  as  their  own 
familiar  friend.  All  sympathy  with  the  French  had  van- 
ished. The  guilt  of  oppression  had  been  atoned  for  with 
the  blood  of  the  oppressors.     England  stood  aghast. 

France  made  the  mistake  of  believing  that  the  masses 
of  the  English  sympathized  with  her,  and  that  the  king 
and  the  English  nobles  were  tyrannizing  over  them ;  and 
one  month  after  the  execution  of  Louis,  while  the  Reign 
of  Terror  was  at  its  height,  France  declared  war  against 
England.  The  English  had  an  idea  that  this  war  would 
be  short,  and  it  was  well  that  they  should  have  thought 
so,  for  troubles  from  another  source  were  pressing  upon 
them. 

268.  Reign  of  Terror  in  Ireland.  Just  at  this  time,  in 
1793,  the  Irish  Roman  Catholics  rose  again  to  demand 
their  rights.  They  were  obliged  to  support  the  Protest- 
ant church,  and  they  had  no  voice  in  making  their  own 
laws.  Under  the  pressure  England  granted,  unwillingly, 
freedom  to  vote  for  members  of  the  Irish  Parliament ; 
but  as  those  members  must  be  Protestants,  this  was 
not  so  very  much  of  a  concession.  There  was  in  Ire- 
land, too,  almost  a  reign  of  terror.  The  Roman 
Catholic  peasants  broke  into  riots  and  outrages  of  all 
sorts.  They  were  savage  with  the  bitterness  of  many 
generations.  Savage,  too,  were  the  punishments  inflicted 
by  the  government. 

269.  Union  between  England  and  Ireland.  To  fight 
for  Ireland  was  the  very  step  for  which  France  was 
ready.  France  had  won  her  freedom,  so  she  believed, 
and  now  she  would  help  Ireland  win  hers.  France  was 
at  war  with  England,  and  every  blow  in  behalf  of  Ireland 


3i8 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1800 


was  a  blow  at  England.  The  French  governmant,  with 
the  aid  of  its  ally,  Spain,  sent  ships  to  invade  Ireland  and 
help  her  to  free  herself  from  England.  Once  they  were 
scattered  by  a  storm.  Twice  the  fleets  were  defeated  by 
the  English.  England  was  convinced  that  there  must 
be  a  union  between  the  two  islands.  The  only  way  to 
secure  anything  like  an  Irish  majority  in  favor  of  a  union 
was  to  buy  votes,  and  enough  votes  were  bought  to  carry 
the  measure.  The  friends  of  justice  hoped  to  persuade 
the  English  to  admit  Irish  Roman  Catholics  as  members 
of  the  joint  Parliament ;  but  this  was  not  done,  chiefly 
because  the  one  idea  that  held  sway  in  the  faithful  old 
king's  obstinate  mind  was  that  to  give  freedom  to  Roman 
Catholics  would  be  to  break  his  coronation  oath  to  sup- 
port the  Protestant  church. 


IRISH   FLAG 


UNION   JACK 


UNION   JACK    BEFORE    180I 


270.  Napoleon  Bonaparte's  career.  The  fighting  with 
France  was  going  on  through  these  troublous  times. 
Among  the  French  one  man  had  become  most  prominent. 
His  name  was  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  and  he  was  one  of 
the  greatest  generals  that  the  world  has  ever  known. 
France  was  now  governed,  not  by  a  king,  but  by  a  body 
of  men  called  the  Directorate.  Napoleon  had  been  a 
very  successful  officer,  and  these  men  had  great  confi- 


1798] 


THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER 


319 


NAPOLEON    BONAPARTE 


encounter.  Napoleon 
his  ships  were 
drawn  up  ready 
for  a  fight,  Nel- 
son contrived  to 
bring  the  English 
ships  between 
those  of  the 
French  and  the 
shore,  and  to  at- 
tack the  French 
in  a  way  for  which 
they  were  not  pre- 
pared. The  re- 
sult was  an  Eng- 
lish victory.  This 
engagement  was 
off  the  mouth  of 
the  Nile,  so  it  is  called 


dence  in  whatever  he 
suggested.  His  plan 
was  to  conquer  Egypt 
and  then  make  his  way 
to  India,  subjugating 
as  he  went.  This 
would  drive  the  Eng- 
lish from  India  and 
would  give  France 
control  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. Unluckily 
for  Napoleon,  there 
was  a  brave  English 
sailor,  named 
Nelson,  who 
was  fully  equal  to  an 
successful  on  land,  but  when 


Nelson. 


LORD   NELSON 

the  Battle  of  the  Nile. 


320  ENGLAND'S   STORY^  [1801-1805 

There  was  also  fighting  in  the  Baltic  Sea,  off  Copen- 
hagen, because  England  believed  that  the  Danes  were 
carrying  goods  to  France.  At  one  time  during  the  battle 
several  vessels  had  run  aground,  and  the  English  admiral 
put  up  the  signal  to  stop  fighting.  It  is  said  that  Nelson 
held  the  glass  to  his  blind  eye  and  declared  that  there  was 
no  signal,  for  he  could  not  see  any ;  so  he  kept  on,  and 
won.  Nelson  was  so  good  to  the  wounded  Danes  that 
when  he  landed  in  Denmark  he  was  received  with  shouts 
of  applause. 

Napoleon  had  now  become  the  most  powerful  man  in 
France.  With  the  army  to  support  him,  it  had  been 
easy  for  him  to  overthrow  the  government  of  the  Direc- 
torate. He  did  not  dare  to  suggest  the  title  of  king,  so 
he  was  called  the  First  Consul,  but  he  had  more  power 
than  Louis  XVI.  had  ever  held,  and  finally  he  was 
Napoleon  called  Emperor.  He  was  so  sure  that  he  could 
as  emperor,  conquer  England  that  he  actually  had  a  medal 
struck  and  dated  1804,  in  honor  of  the  conquest  which 
he  expected  to  make.  But  he  never  set  foot  on  Eng. 
lish  soil,  for  off  Cape  Trafalgar  was  Nelson  awaiting 
him.  Once,  when  Napoleon  was  about  to  fight  a  battle 
in  Egypt  in  sight  of  the  pyramids,  he  had  called  to 
his  men,  "  Soldiers,  forty  centuries  are  looking  down 
upon  you."  Nelson  was  not  so  theatrical.  He  ran  up 
the  signal  so  that  all  on  the  fleet  could  read  it,  "  England 
expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty."  Every  man  did  his 
duty,  and  the  French  were  driven  back.  '   * 

Napoleon's  soldiers  would  follow  him  anywhere,  and 
for  a  number  of  years  he  did  just  about  what  he  pleased, 
not  only  in  France,  but  through  the  rest  of  Europe.  He 
would  conquer  a  country,  depose  the  king,  and  put  one 
of  his  brothers  or  one  of  his  generals  on  the  throne.  He 
tried  to  put  his  brother  Joseph  on  the  throne  of  Spain, 


i8o8-i8i2]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  321 

but  Spain  appealed  to  England  for  help,  and  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  was  sent  against  him.  This  struggle  is  called 
the  Peninsular  War,  because  Spain  is  a  peninsula.     The 


napoleon's  medal  to  commemorate  his  expected  conquest  of 

ENGLAND 

Duke  of  Wellington  drove  Napoleon  away,  and  Spain 
had  again  her  own  king.  Joseph  after  a  while  came  to 
America  and  bought  some  land  in  New  Jersey.  This  is 
why  that  state  is  sometimes  nicknamed  **  Spain," 

Several  European  countries  had  been  leagued  against 
Napoleon,  but  England  was  the  one  that  he  hated  most 
bitterly.  He  was  at  peace  with  Russia,  but  when  he 
demanded  that  that  country  should  not  trade  with 
England,  Russia  refused  to  yield.  Napoleon  pfapoieon 
marched  straight  into  the  heart  of  the  land  to  in  Russia, 
capture  Moscow ;  but  when  he  came  to  the  city,  it  had 
been  burned  by  the  Russians  to  prevent  his  gaining  any- 
thing by  its  capture.  The  French  had  expected  to  find 
supplies  in  Moscow,  and  they  were  almost  without  provi- 
sions in  the  fearful  cold  of  a  Russian  winter.  Slowly 
they  retreated,  but  only  one  man  in  twenty  of  the  great 
French  army  ever  saw  France  again.  The  Russian  army 
pressed  into  Paris  from  the  north  and  the  English  from 


322  ENGLAND'S   STORY  1814-1815] 

the  south.  Napoleon  surrendered,  and  was  sent  to  the 
little  island  of  Elba.  A  younger  brother  of  Louis  XVI. 
was  put  upon  the  French  throne.  Many  were  afraid 
of  kingly  control,  remembering  what  they  had 
return  from  suffered,  and  when  Napoleon  slipped  away  from 
Elba.  £j|^^  ^^^  came  to  France,  there  was  wild  re- 

joicing, and  an  enthusiastic  army  was  ready  to  do  his 
bidding. 

Several  nations  united  to  oppose  him,  but  the  English 

under    the    Duke 

PIIP »"i""llllili«^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^^      of    Wel- 

1815.  lington 

were  first  on  the 
spot.  Napoleon 
met  them  at  Wa- 
terloo, in  Belgium. 
Hour  after  hour 
the  fighting  went 
on.  It  became 
evident  to  both 
commanders  that 
victory  would  lie 
with  the  side 
that  was  first  re- 
inforced. Would 
the  French  or  the 
Prussians  march 
over  the  bad  road 
the  more  rapidly.-* 
The  Prussians  came  first,  and  the  field  was  won  by  Eng- 
land. Napoleon  could  not  be  trusted  so  near  as  Elba, 
and  the  allies  sent  him  to  Saint  Helena,  where  he  died 
in  exile. 

271.  Condition  of  England.    This  was  the  end  of  the 


ARTHUR    WELLESLEY,  DUKE    OF    WELLINGTON 


i8i5]  THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  323 

fighting  that,  with  intervals  of  peace,  had  been  carried  on 
by  England  and  France  for  one  hundred  years.  The 
taxes  which  it  had  made  necessary  were  crushing  to  the 
poor,  and  they  had  still  other  troubles  to  meet,  for  Eng- 
land was  undergoing  a  revolution  not  in  govern-  watt  in- 
ment,  but  in  methods  of  manufacturing.  James  Jteamen* 
Watt,  in  1765,  had  so  improved  upon  the  rude  gine.  i765. 
steam  engine  of  one  century  earlier  that  his  work  was 
practically  a  new  invention.  At  about  the  same  time 
machines  for  spinning  and  weaving  were  invented.  These 
industries  had  previously  been  carried  on  in  the  home, 
but  now  men  must  go  away  from  home  and  Factories 
work  when  and  where  the  owners  of  factories  arebuiit. 
might  choose.  Even  if  the  workmen  were  able  to  go  to 
the  factories,  one  machine  could  do  the  work  of  many 
men,  and  those  that  were  not  needed  had  no  other  work 
to  do.  Thousands  were  starving.  They  felt  that  in  some 
way  the  new  inventions  were  to  blame  for  their  troubles, 
and  there  were  riots  in  which  much  machinery  was  de- 
stroyed. The  poor  had  little  chance  of  education ;  for  books 
and  papers  were  dear,  and  there  were  no  free  severe 
schools.  Punishments  for  offences  against  the  i*^*- 
laws  were  unreasonably  severe.  If  a  man  could  not  pay 
his  debts,  he  was  kept  in  prison  all  his  life,  unless  he  had 
friends  to  buy  him  out.  To-day  a  man  is  put  to  death 
for  wilful  murder  and  for  treason ;  but  in  the  reign  of 
George  III.  there  was  a  long  list  of  misdemeanors  for 
which  even  a  child  might  be  hanged.  If  a  person  stole  an 
article  valued  at  five  shillings,  the  penalty  was  hanging; 
and  when  the  amount  was  changed  from  five  shillings  to 
twenty,  some  people  were  in  all  sincerity  greatly  alarmed 
lest  the  land  should  be  overrun  with  thieves.  Others 
saw  how  unreasonable  it  was  to  take  a  man's  life  for  such 
an  offence,  and  a  jury  would  sometirftes  save  a  man  who 


324 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1812 


had  stolen  a  one-pound  note  by  bringing  in  a  verdict, 
"  Guilty  of  stealing  a  one-pound  note  valued  at  nineteen 
shillings." 

272.  War  of   1812.      During  the  last  ten  years  of 
the  reign  of  George  III.,  the  poor  old  king  was  insane 

and  blind,  and 
his  son  ruled  in 
his  place.  Just 
after  the  trou- 
ble came  upon 
him,  there  was 
a  second  war 
with  America. 
The  chief  cause 
was  the  claim 
of  England  that 
a  man  born 
on  English  soil 
was  always  an 
Englishman, 
and  could  not 
become  a  citi- 
zen of  any 
other  nation. 
She  declared  that  an  English  commander  had  a  right  to 
search  any  ships  that  he  met  on  the  ocean  and  seize  any 
"Rightof  i^en  that  he  thought  were  of  English  birth. 
Search."  y^[^  ^-[^^^  ^^s  called  the  "  Right  of  Search." 
It  is  said  that  England  had  seized  from  American  vessels 
as  many  as  six  thousand  men  who  were  eitl^ier  natural- 
ized American  citizens  or  else  of  American  birth,  and 
that  she  had  forced  them  to  enter  the  English  navy.  It 
was  during  this  war  that  the  English  landed  in  Mary- 
land, destroyed  the  Congressional  Library,  and  burned 


THE   FRIGATE   CONSTITUTtON    (OLD   IRONSIDES) 


1760-1820]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  325 

the  Capitol  in  Washington.  The  Americans  won  at 
New  Orleans,  but  their  greatest  victories  were  on  the 
water.  This  was  the  more  remarkable  because  England 
had  been  so  successful  in  the  naval  warfare  with  France. 
It  was  said  that  she  had  captured  hundreds  of  ships  and 
had  lost  only  five ;  but  that  after  fighting  with  America 
six  months  she  had  "had  six  naval  battles,  had  lost  six 
ships,  and  had  not  taken  one."  It  was  in  this  war  that 
the  Constitution,  or  Old  Ironsides,  won  her  victories,  and 
that  Perry,  the  young  man  who  had  never  seen  a  naval 
engagement,  defeated  the  English  on  Lake  Erie,  and  sent 
to  Washington  the  message,  "  We  have  met  the  enemy, 
and  they  are  ours."  In  18 14  the  war  closed,  but  the  bat- 
tle of  New  Orleans  was  fought  after  the  treaty  was  signed, 
because,  as  there  was  no  telegraph  and  no  way  of  send- 
ing the  news  any  sooner  than  by  sailing  vessel,  no  one 
in  America  knew  that  peace  had  been  declared. 

273.  Literature.  In  a  reign  so  long  as  that  of  George 
III.  there  was  opportunity  for  changes  in  literature  as 
well  as  in  manufacturing.  Samuel  Johnson  was  samuei 
the  man  who  exerted  most  influence  over  the  Johaso^. 
literary  world  of  his  day.  Rewrote  biography,  criticism, 
essays,  and  a  story  called  "  Rasselas,"  but  his  great  work 
was  the  compilation  of  an  English  dictionary,  the  first  of 
any  real  value.  The  worth  of  this  book  was  so  fully  ap- 
preciated that  it  was  even  proposed  to  make  its  author  a 
sort  of  dictator  over  the  English  language,  and  to  allow 
no  appeal  from  his  decision.  He  had  a  friend,  •  ouver 
named  Oliver  Goldsmith,  who,  as  was  said,  ctoi^smitii. 
"wrote  like  an  angel,  and  talked  like  poor  Poll."  Gold- 
smith was  always  out  of  .money  and  was  always  getting 
into  trouble,  but  he  was  so  witty  and  so  lovable  that  there 
was  generally  a  friend  at  hand  to  help  him  out  of  his 
difficulties.      He,   too,   wrote    a    novel,   the  "Vicar   of 


326  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [i 760-1820 

Wakefield."  "  Rasselas"  is  really  a  kind  of  essay  on  the 
folly  of  discontent,  though  it  has  a  slender  plot  and  the 
paragraphs  are  assigned  to  different  characters  ;  but  the 
"Vicar"  is  a  readable  story  about  real  men  and  women, 
and  is  written  with  a  charming  naturalness  and  simpHcity 
and  humor.  Goldsmith  wrote  poetry  as  well  as  prose,  and 
his  "Deserted  Village"  is  as  delightful  as  the  "Vicar." 

One  would  expect  the  writing  of  novels  of  home  life, 
which  began  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
to  be  continued,  but  there  was  also  much  writ- 
ing of  poetry  before  and  after  the  year  1800, 
The  imagination  of  men  of  literary  ability  seems  to  have 
been  excited  by  the  revolutions  and  the  new  thoughts  of 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  just  as  it  was 
by  the  great  events  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  some 
of  the  poetry  that  was  written  has  the  freshness  and  ease 
Robert  of  the  Elizabethan  days.  In  Scotland  Robert 
Bums.  Burns  wrote  not  only  such  irresistibly  humorous 
poems  as  "Tam  O'Shanter,"  but  also  such  strong  lines 

as :  — 

"  The  rank  is  but  the  guinea's  stamp  ; 
The  man  's  the  gowd  for  a'  that." 

His  writings,  with  their  beauty  and  pathos  and  humor, 
sound  the  keynote  of  the  newly  arisen  interest  in  people 
because  they  were  people,  and  not  because  they  were 
Walter  ^ich  or  educated  or  of  high  rank.  A  little 
Scott  i^i-gj.  Walter  Scott  wrote  poems  that  have  almost 

the  ring  of  the  old  ballads.  Then  he  wrote  historical 
novels,  and  these,  too,  are  in  sympathy  with  the  new  feel- 
ing, for  in  his  stories  it  is  not  so  often  the  lords  and 
ladies  as  the  cottagers  and  the  men  of  low  degree  that 
arouse  our  warmest  interest.  Wordsworth  came  with  his 
love  of  nature  and  his  conviction  that  writing  poetry 
was  not  an  amusement  but  a  serious  business.      Charles 


1760-1820]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  327 

Lamb  showed  people  the  beauties  of  the  old,  half-for- 
gotten dramatists,  and  wrote  his  "  Essays  of  ohariei 
Elia"  with  their  unequalled  geniality,  pathos,  ^*™*' 
and  humor.  At  the  end  of  the  reign  of  George  III.  the 
literature  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  well  begun  with 
freshness,  brightness,  humor,  appreciation  of  the  old, 
readiness  for  the  new,  and  a  rapidly  developing  feeling  of 
sympathy  for  whatever  is  human. 

SUMMARY 

The  reign  of  George  III.,  the  longest  in  English  history 
except  that  of  Queen  Victoria,  was  a  series  of  wars.  First 
came  the  American  Revolution^,  by  which  England  lost  her 
colonies  in  America.  Further  manifestation  of  the  English 
colonial  policy  caused  riots  in  Ireland ;  and  France,  fresh 
from  her  own  Revolution,  was  ready  to  help  the  Irish.  Eng- 
lish bribery  brought  about  the  union  of  Ireland  with  England. 
France  declared  war,  but  the  supremacy  of  the  English  navy 
under  Nelson  freed  England  from  all  danger  of  French  inva- 
sion. The  war  went  on  for  twenty  years,  ending  with  Wel- 
lington's defeat  of  Napoleon  at  Waterloo.  England  had  also 
been  at  war  with  America  a  second  time. 

The  poor  suffered  greatly  from  the  heavy  taxes  that  these 
wars  made  necessary,  and  from  the  introduction  of  labor- 
saving  machinery. 

A  long  reign  of  fighting  left  England  without  her  American 
colonies  and  with  no  compensating  territorial  gain  in  any 
other  quarter. 

33.  George  IV.     1 820-1 830 

274.  George  IV.  becomes  king.  When  George  IV. 
came  to  the  throne,  in  18.20,  there  was  no  enthusiasm. 
He  had  really  ruled  England  ten  years,  as  for  that  length 
of  time  his  father  had  been  hopelessly  insane,  and  this 
George  had  acted  as  regent.^  He  was  reckless  and  profii- 


328 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1820-1828 


gate,  and  did  nothing  but  enjoy  himself  in  wildness 
and  dissipation.  More  than  once  ParHament  paid  enor- 
mous debts  that  he  began  to  contract  anew  as  soon  as 
the  old  ones  had  been  settled.  In  the  earlier  days  of 
England  it  was  the  custom  for  a  knight  in  full  armor 

to    appear   at    each 

coronation,  and  chal- 
lenge to  single  com- 
bat any  one  who 
disputed  the  right 
of  the  new  sovereign 
to  the  throne.  At 
the  coronation  of 
George  IV.  this 
"King's  Champion" 
appeared  for  the  last 
time,  and  it  does 
seem  as  if  in  the 
character  of  the  king 
there  was  reason 
enough  why  some 
one  should  have  re- 
sponded to  the  chal- 
lenge of  the  cham- 
pion. 
276.  Repeal  of  unjust  laws.  The  reign  of  George 
IV.  is  noted  especially  for  the  repeal  of  several  unjust 
laws  which  had  been  passed  in  the  time  of  Charles  II. 
The  object  of  these  laws  had  been  to  counteract  the 
influence  that  King  Charles  was  constantly  using  in  favor 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

One  of  these  was  called  the  Corporation  Act.  It  had 
been  passed  just  after  Charles  II.  came  to  the  throne, 
and  it  declared  that  no  one  should  hold  any  town  office 


GEORGE   IV. 


v^ 


z 


O     R     T    H 
S     E     A 


O^'^'f 


5?    ■?•, 


f^T-jfl 


C  E"^ 


/^ 


^ 


Qu. 


'ier^ 


\ 

BAVARIA  . 


'anees     /  °''*'^i;\   H^«^\    ^^"^^ 


^^^Gal 


^^o,     "-^      rT'^^^oLUno,.,    'fi  MZJ^^^^^^^ 


«*, 


^y 
^ 


^"'i^ia 


oTrient 


o 

y 

Q  galamanca 


Vaieoe. 


■'"^4 


*f>';;:if^3i<j£Sirf 


31 


Barcelona 

E       D 


JGif^r, 


f 

r^ 

Ma, 

SAftl 

Wu  f 

t 

0 

.^ 

c 

.c*^' 


>^^. 


B 


:.J. PETERS   &.   SON    ENGnS., BOSTON. 


EUROPE 

1835 

WITH  HISTORICAL  DETAIL 

TROM 

1500-1900 

Scale  of  Mileg 

0  100  200  300 


Q  Longitude  West       0 


Longitude  Ea^t     10      from  Oreenwict 


1829]  THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  329 

or  be  an  officer  in  any. corporation,  unless  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church'  of  England.     After  nearly  „ 

^  1     1        A         ,  Corporation 

two  hundred  years,  this  was  repealed.     Another  and  Test 

was  known  as  the  Test  Act,  and  this  had  been  ^^^^' 
passed  because  Charles  had  issued  what  was  called  a 
Declaration  of  Indulgence  ;  for,  although  this  Declaration 
gave  to  members  of  all  churches  the  same  rights  that 
members  of  the  Church  of  England  enjoyed.  Parliament 
believed  that  Charles's  only  reason  for  issuing  it  was  to 
give  Roman  Catholics  more  power.     The  Test  Act  re- 
quired every  one  who  wished  to  hold  any  civil  or  military 
office  to  swear  that  he  believed  one  of  the  principal  doc- 
trines of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  to  be  false.     Daniel 
O'Connell,  an  Irishman  of  great  ability,  having  j^^j^^ 
been  duly  elected,  demanded  a  seat  in  the  House  oathoucs 
of  Commons,  notwithstanding  his  being  a  Ro-  parliament, 
man  Catholic.     There  was   strong  opposition,  ^®^®' 
but  it  was  finally  withdrawn  lest  there  should  be  war  in 
Ireland.     The   Catholic   Emancipation  Act  was  passed, 
and  at  last  it  had  become  possible  for  a  Roman  Catholic 
to  have  a  voice  in  making  the  laws  for  his  country. 

276.  Who  should  succeed  to  the  throne.  George 
IV.  was  not  so  beloved,  and  his  royal  ancestors  had  not 
been  so  brilliant  that  the  English  needed  to  long  for  a 
continuance  of  the  family  in  power  ;  but  the  nation  would 
have  been  horrified  at  the  idea  of  any  change,  and  there 
was  much  anxiety  about  the  succession.  After  George 
IV.,  his  next  younger  brother  William  would  rule ;  but 
neither  of  them  had  any  children  to  inherit  the  throne. 
There  was,  however,  the  daughter  of  a  still  younger 
brother,  a  little  girl  eleven  years  old.  Her  father  was 
dead,  and  she  was  living  quietly  and  simply  with  her 
mother  and  her  governess,  playing  with  the  dolls  that  she 
kept  as  long  as  she  lived,  and  without  the  least  idea  that 
she  might  some  day  become  a  queen. 


330 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1830 


SUMMARY 

Acts  were  passed  repealing  the  unjust  Corporation  Act  and 
Test  Act  that  had  been  passed  during  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 
The  passage  of  the  Catholic  Emancipation  Act  admitted  Re 
man  Catholics  to  Parliament.  There  was  much  anxiety  about 
the  succession  to  the  throne. 


34.  William  IV.     1 830-1 837 

277.  The  **  Sailor  King."     William  IV.  is  called  the 
"Sailor  King,"  because  he  spent  most  of  his  life  in  the 

navy.  He  was 
bluff  and  cordial  in 
his  manner,  kind- 
hearted  and  frank, 
and  he  meant  sin- 
cerely to  do  his 
best  for  the  people. 
It  never  seemed  to 
enter  his  mind  that 
he  was  in  any  way 
superior  to  the  rest 
of  the  nation  be- 
cause of  his  royal 
blood,  and  he  had 
a  way  of  treating 
great  and  small 
very  much  alike, 
and  a  rather  aston- 
ishing fashion  of  inviting  men  to  dinner  without  the  least 
regard  to  whether  they  were  Whigs  or  Tories.  He 
cared  little  for  the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  state,  but  he 
cared  a  great  deal  about  his  people's  loving  him  and  feel- 
ing satisfied  with  what  he  did  for  them. 


WILLIAM  I\ 


1830-1832]  THE   HOUSE  OF   HANOVER  33 1 

278.  Reforms  in  electing  members  of  Parliament. 

Reforms  and  inventions,  and  not  wars,  make  up  the  story 
of  William's  reign.  The  first  reform  was  in  the  method 
of  electing  members  of  Parliament.  In  the  times  of 
Henry  III.  two  knights  represented  each  shire,  or  county. 
Then  representatives  were  sent  from  some  of  the  towns, 
or  boroughs.  Which  towns  should  be  selected  seems  to 
have  depended  either  upon  the  choice  of  the  king  or 
upon  the  willingness  of  the  town  to  meet  the  necessary 
expense.  It  gradually  became  an  established  custom 
that  these  towns  and  no  others  should  be  represented  in 
Parliament.  As  time  passed,  a  borough  which  had  no 
right  of  representation  sometimes  became  the  home  of 
large  numbers  of  people ;  while  in  another,  that  chanced 
to  have  no  manufactories,  the  number  of  inhabitants  had 
often  become  exceedingly  small.  It  is  said  that  in  the 
year  of  William's  coronation  there  was  not  a  single  inhab- 
itant left  in  a  certain  one  of  these  boroughs,  and  the  man 
that  owned  the  land  quietly  selected  his  two  members  and 
sent  them  to  Parliament  to  represent  no  one  but  himself. 
Even  this  was  better  than  the  other  side  of  the  matter, 
for  it  was  not  quite  so  bad  to  have  two  men  represent 
one  as  to  have  many  large  cities  entirely  without  repre- 
sentation, simply  because  the  land  on  which  they  were 
built  did  not  have  any  inhabitants  in  the  olden  times. 

These  boroughs  in  which  so  few  lived  were  called 
"  rotten  boroughs,"  and  the  time  had  come  when  reform 
could  no  longer  wait.  A  list  was  read  in  Parliament  of 
the  boroughs  to  which  it  was  proposed  to  give  no  repre- 
sentation, and  of  those  that  were  to  send  one  member 
instead  of  two,  or  sometimes  even  four.  This  would 
deprive  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  members  of 
their  seats  in  Parliament.  Most  of  them  were  present, 
and  as  the  bill  was  read,  there  were  roars  of  laughter  at 


332  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1832 

the  absurdity  of  such  a  scheme ;  but  the  masses  of  the 
nation  were  demanding  the  reform,  and  finally  the  House 
of  Commons  voted  for  it.  The  House  of  Lords  opposed, 
but  the  nation  was  no  less  determined.  The  vote  was 
taken  again  with  the  same  result,  for  not  only  was  there 
the  customary  opposition  of  the  lords  to  making  changes, 
but  many  believed  sincerely  that  to  have  members  repre- 
sent people  instead  of  land,  and  to  depart  from  the  old 
system  of  elections,  would  be  a  great  injury  to  the  gov- 
••  Rotten       ernment.     Finally,  the  king  was  driven  by  his 

boroughs "  ministers  to  ffive  permission  to  make  as  many 
aboUshed.  111  .  ., 

new  peers  as  would  be  necessary  to  carry  the 

measure ;  and  the  House  of  Lords  then  yielded  rather 
than  have  their  ranks  so  crowded. 

This  reform  was  for  the  good  of  all  England,  but  there 
was  another  reform  that  was  especially  for  the  benefit  of 
Help  lor  the  the  children  who  had  been  working  in  factories 
chUdren.  ^j^^j  [^  ^.qqI  rnines.  They  were  little  children, 
too,  some  of  them  not  more  than  four  years  of  age,  and 
girls  as  well  as  boys.  In  the  mines  the  children  were  in 
total  darkness,  often  drenched  with  cold  water  from  morn- 
ing till  night.  Sometimes  for  twelve  or  fourteen  hours  a 
day  they  opened  and  shut  doors  whenever  they  heard  a 
coal-car  coming.  Sometimes  they  had  to  creep  on  their 
hands  and  feet  and  drag  through  the  wet  passages  heavy 
loads  fastened  by  a  chain  to  a  girdle  put  around  the 
waist.  A  commissioner  appointed  to  examine  the  mines 
reported  that  he  had  found  a  little  girl  only  six  years  of 
age  dragging  fifty  pounds  in  this  fashion  for  fourteen 
long  trips  every  day.  The  lives  of  children  employed  in 
factories  were  no  less  hard,  save  that  they  did  not  work 
in  darkness  and  in  water.  It  was  felt  to  be  a  great  step 
in  the  right  direction  when  it  was  decreed  that  no  child 
under  nine  years  of  age  should  be  employed,  and  that 


i833]  THE   HOUSE  OF   HANOVER  333 

children  between  nine  and  fourteen  should  not  work 
more  than  eight  hours  a  day.  When  we  remember  that 
besides  the  other  horrors  of  their  lives  they  were  some- 
times brutally  whipped  for  the  most  trifling  faults,  even 
for  falling  asleep,  this  kindness  of  the  lawmakers  seems 
only  a  little  removed  from  utter  barbarity,  but  there 
were  better  laws  to  come. 

There  were  other  slaves  besides  these  little  children, 
and  in  their  behalf  a  good  man  named  Wilberforce  had 
been  working  for  many  years.    The  slave  trade 
had  been  forbidden  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,   force's  ef- 
but  in  the  West  Indies  negro  slaves  were  still  the  slaves, 
held  to  work  on  the  sugar  plantations.    In  1833   ^®^^* 
it  was  decreed  that  they  should  be  made  free,  and  the 
sum  of  twenty  million  pounds  was  ordered  to  be  paid  to 
the  owners  of  the  plantations  to  make  good  the  loss. 
Wilberforce  lived  just  long  enough  to  know  that  the  bill 
would  become  a  law,  and  that    the  good  to  which  he 
had  devoted  his  life  would  come  to  pass. 

Now  that  people  had  begun  to  have  a  little  realization 
of  the  suffering  around  them,  it  occurred  to  some  that 
even  persons  accused  of  crime  had  rights,  and  Accused 
that  giving  a  man  a  trial  before  a  jury  was  not  JJ^^J^* 
all  that  was  necessary  in  order  to  give  him  jus-  haveiaw- 
tice.      If  a  man  was  accused  of  a  crime,  the  ^"*" 
government  employed  a  lawyer  to  bring  up  every  circum- 
stance that  would  tell  against  him,  but  the  man  himself 
could  not  have  a  lawyer.     He  might  speak  in  his  own 
behalf,  but  very  few  accused  men  would  be  likely  to  under- 
stand the  intricacies  of  the  law,  and  there  must  have 
been  multitudes  who  were  imprisoned  or  even  executed, 
not  because  they  were  wicked,  but  because  they  were 
ignorant.     Now,  for  the  first  time,  an  accused  man  was 
allowed  to  have  a  lawyer  to  speak  for  him  and  to  bring 


334 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[1836 


up  every  cir- 
cumstance that 
would  tell  in  his 
favor. 

There  were 
great  inven- 
tions in  the 
short  reign  of 
the  "Sailor 
King,"  the  first 
steam  railway, 
the  first  iron 
vessel,  and  the 
tiny  friction 
match.  More 
important  than 
any  invention 
was  the  pro- 
gress of  the 
feeling    that 

those  who  have  power  and  wealth  ought  to  aid  those 

who  have  neither. 


STEPHENSON'S    LOCOMOTIVE   "  THE    ROCKET' 

Adopted  for  use  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
Railway  in  1829 


SUMMARY 

The  reign  of  the  "  Sailor  King  "  was  noted  chiefly  for  its  re- 
forms. The  principal  ones  were  the  abolition  of  the  "  rotten 
boroughs,"  of  some  of  the  worst  features  of  child-labor,  and 
of  slavery  in  the  colonies.  Men  accused  of  crime  were  then 
for  the  first  time  allowed  to  have  the  aid  of  a  lawyer.  The 
general  character  of  these  reforms  indicated  a  gain  in  public 
sympathy  for  those  that  needed  help. 


1837]  THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  335 

35.  Victoria,     i 837-1901 

279.  The  girl  queen.  It  was  five  o'clock  one  June 
morning  when  a  young  girl  in  Kensington  Palace  was 
awakened  by  the  coming  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
Bury,  the  Lord  Chamberlain,  and  the  king's  physician,  to 
tell  her  that  she  was  queen  of  more  than  eighteen  mil- 
lions of  people.  A  few  hours  later  the  great  reception 
rooms  of  the  palace  were  filled  with  a  famous  company, 
bishops  and  archbishops  and  nobles  and  illustrious  com- 
moners. Victoria  was  then  but  little  more  than  eigh- 
teen years  of  age,  and  every  one  watched  to  see  how 
she  would  behave  on  so  difficult  an  occasion.  Would 
she  be  elated  by  her  new  honors,  or  self-possessed,  or 
shy  and  embarrassed  ?  They  had  not  long  to  wait.  The 
wide  doors  were  thrown  open,  and  the  young  queen 
entered  with  her  mother.  She  was  pale,  but  perfectly 
calm.  She  seated  herself  at  the  head  of  the  council 
table.  Then  came  the  solemn  oath  that  she  would  act 
for  the  good  of  her  country  and  defend  the  Church  of 
England.  There  was  a  moment's  pause,  for  her  man- 
ner was  so  sincere,  so  modest,  and  so  dignified,  and  she 
seemed  to  realize  so  perfectly  the  responsibility  of  the 
high  position  to  which  she  had  been  called,  that  every 
one  was  hushed.  Then  came  the  councillors'  oath  of 
fealty,  and  old,  gray-haired  men  knelt  at  her  feet  and 
solemnly  promised  to  be  true  to  her  as  their  lawful  sover- 
eign. "If  she  had  been  my  own  daughter,"  said  the 
Diike  of  Wellington,  "  I  could  not  have  wished  that  she 
should  do  better." 

280.  A  welcome  ruler.  Victoria  was  happy  in  her 
new  position.  A  Scotch  nobleman  who  saw  her  soon 
after  the  coronation  said,  "  The  little  queen  was  exceed- 
ingly kind,  and  as  merry  and  playful  as  a  kitten."    She 


33^  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1837-1838 

was  a  descendant  of  Alfred  the  Great  and  of  William 
the  Conqueror.  No  one  else  had  the  least  claim  to  the 
throne.  There  was  nothing  in  her  past  life  that  needed 
to  be  pardoned  or  overlooked;  and  the  fact  that  upon 
shoulders  so  slender  rested  the  weight  of  so  great  a  king- 
dom gave  her  sympathy  rather  than  envy.  She  had  been 
brought  up  simply  and  quietly,  and  had  been  accustomed 
to  less  luxury  than  many  of  her  subjects.  Moreover, 
there  was  a  strong  reason  why  English  statesmen  were 
especially  glad,  and  this  was  that  now  England  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  Hanover ;  for  that  country  had 
a  law  that  it  should  not  be  ruled  by  a  woman  so  long  as 
there  was  a  man  in  the  royal  family.  An  uncle  of  the 
queen's  went  to  govern  Hanover,  and  Victoria  ruled 
Great  Britain. 

281.  Limitations  of  the  royal  power.  The  rule  of 
an  English  sovereign  in  Victoria's  day  was  quite  a  differ- 
ent matter  from  that  of  a  few  centuries  earlier.  When 
the  queen  had  been  on  the  throne  less  than  two  years, 
her  prime  minister  resigned,  and  she  was  obliged  to  select 
another.  She  offered  the  position  to  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
and  he  agreed  to  accept  it ;  but  he  declared  that  it  would 
be  necessary  to  remove  the  chief  ladies  who  were  in  at- 
tendance upon  her  and  put  in  others  who  were  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  changed  ministry.  The  queen  was  not 
pleased,  and  she  wrote  to  Sir  Robert  that  such  a  change 
was  not  customary,  that  she  did  not  like  it,  and  would 
not  consent  to  it.  Then  Sir  Robert  replied  as  politely  as 
possible  that  he  could  not  take  office  unless  this  was 
done.  The  result  was  that  the  former  prime  minister 
returned  to  power  ;  but  there  was  afterwards  a  kind  of 
compromise,  and  while  the  other  ladies  of  the  house 
remain,  the  Mistress  of  the  Robes,  who  holds  the  highest 
position  in  the  queen's  household,  resigns  as  soon  as  her 


1837-1901]         THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER 


337 


party  is  out  of  power.     An  English  queen  is,  therefore, 
less  free  to  choose  her  principal  attendant  than  is  the 


QUEEN    VICTORIA 


woman  who  is  at  the  head  of  any  other  household  in 
the  land. 


33^  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1837 

It  is  true  that  the  preferences  of  the  sovereign  often 
count  for  much  more  than  the  commands  of  others,  and 
Influence  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  much  power,  though  but  little  au- 
not  domin-  thority ;  yet  his  power  is  a  matter  of  influence 
rather  than  of  dominion.  An  English  ruler  no 
longer  rules  ;  he  holds  the  sceptre,  but  it  must  point  as 
the  people  direct.  He  is  the  figurehead  of  the  nation,  a 
symbol  of  law  and  justice,  but  he  no  longer  has  the  right 
to  make  a  law  or  to  interfere  with  the  course  of  justice. 
What  would  the  Stuarts  with  their  "  divine  right "  have 
thought  of  a  king  who  has  no  choice  whether  to  sign  a 
bill  or  not,  but  who  is  obliged  to  agree  to  whatever  the 
two  Houses  of  Parliament  think  best } 

282.  Liraitations  of  the  House  of  Lords.  In  the 
days  of  Magna  Carta  the  nobles  were  the  only  power 
that  could  call  a  tyrannical  king  to  account  and  make  him 
deal  justly  with  his  people.  They  have  now  far  less 
power  than  formerly.  It  is  true  that  a  bill  cannot  become 
a  law  without  their  agreement,  but  if  they  persist  in  re- 
fusing to  confirm  a  vote  of  the  Commons,  the  Commons 
may  then  require  the  king  to  create  a  sufficient  number 
of  new  peers  to  carry  the  measure.  Moreover,  there  are 
but  few  subjects  on  which  the  Lords  may  present  bills, 
and  even  those  bills  cannot  become  laws  without  the  vote 
of  the  Commons. 

283.  Value  of  the  House  of  Lords.  The  House  of 
Commons  is  inclined  to  go  ahead,  and  the  House  of 
Lords  to  hold  back,  and  to  oppose  reforms  and  innova- 
tions. Still,  the  Lords  have  almost  invariably  yielded 
when  they  saw  that  the  Commons  were  really  in  earnest. 
George  Washington  compared  our  American  House  of 
Representatives  and  Senate  to  the  cup  and  saucer.  The 
tea  in  the  cup  was  hot,  he  said,  and  it  needed  to  be 
poured  into  the  saucer  to  cool ;  and  it  is  an  excellent 


1837] 


THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER 


339 


plan  to  have  one  of  the  two  bodies  of  law-makers  not  in 
a  hurry  to  adopt  every  new  idea.  If  those  men  only  who 
had  nobles  for  ancestors  could  be  nobles,  it  is  likely  that 
there  would  be  no  House  of  Lords  to-day ;  but  while  it  is 
possible  for  a  man  who  has  worked  his  way  to  the  front 
as  artist,  musician,  author,  general,  or  statesman  to  be- 
come a  lord,  there  cannot  be  a  very  strong  jealousy  of  the 


HOUSES   OF   PARLIAMENT,   OPENED   IN    1852 

nobles  as  a  people  set  apart  to  receive  favors  for  which 
they  have  made  no  return. 

•  284.  Power  of  the  Commons.  The  real  power  lies 
in  the  hands  of  the  Commons,  and  it  is  the  Commons 
that  hold  the  money-bags  of  the  kingdom.  When  King 
Henry  VH.  wanted  money,  he  simply  took  it  from  any 
of  his  subjects  that  possessed  it.  To-day  neither  House 
of  Lords  nor  king  dares  even  suggest  such  a  thing  as  a 
tax.  The  proposal *to  raise  money  must  come  from  the 
Hou^e  of  Commons,  and  from  nowhere  else. 


340 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[1840-185 I 


"^ 


286.  Marriage  of  the  queen.  1840.  Victoria  as  a 
sovereign  stood  alone.     She  could  consult  no  statesman 

as  an  individual ;  he  must 
always  be  looked  upon  as 
representing  a  party.  Her 
marriage  in  1840  to  her 
cousin,  Prince  Albert  of  Saxe- 
Coburg-Gotha,  was  especially 
pleasing  to  her  personal 
friends,  although  many  of  her 
subjects  felt  a  vague  jealousy 
of  a  foreigner's  holding  in 
England  a  position  of  such 
influence.  Momentous  ques- 
tions of  precedence  arose, 
which  were  partially  settled 
when  one  wise  old  councillor 
declared,  "  Let  the  queen  put 
the  prince  just  where  she  wants  him  to  be." 

The  fears  of  Prince  Albert's  influence  were  needless. 
From  his  marriage  to  his  death,  in  1861,  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  best  good  of  his  adopted  country. 
The  World's  Fair  of  185 1,  the  first  of  the 
great  industrial  exhibitions,  was  suggested  and 
planned  by  him.  His  interest  in  art  and  education  was 
an  unfailing  inspiration  and  stimulus  to  the  subjects  of 
the  queen. 

286.  The  "Opium  War."  1840.  In  the  year  of  the 
royal  marriage,  England  was  fighting  against  China. 
This  contest  was  known  as  the  '*  Opium  War."  The 
English  were  raising  large  quantities  of  opium  in  India, 
and  they  were  finding  the  Chinese  exceedingly  good  cus- 
tomers. China  had  never  been  willing  to  trade  with 
foreigners,  and  she  was  indignant  at  the  persistent  efforts 


PRINCE  ALBERT 


The 

World's 
Fair.  1851 


1848]  THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  341 

of  England  to  force  the  drug  upon  hen'  Its  use  had  in- 
creased so  that  the  English  sent  eight  times  as  much 
in  1839  as  in  18 10,  and  the  dealers  were  making  fortunes. 
England  would  not  yield,  and  the  result  of  the  war  was 
that  China  was  forced  to  open  her  ports  to  British  trade. 

287.  The  Chartist  Agitation.  1848.  Not  long  be- 
fore the  beginning  of  Victoria's  reign,  the  "  rotten 
boroughs  "  were  done  away  with,  and  the  Lords  felt  that 
a  great  deal  had  been  granted  to  the  masses  of  the  people. 
Not  every  one  agreed  with  them.  A  man  must  even 
then  have  an  income  from  land  of  three  hundred  pounds 
before  he  could  become  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Commons.  This  was  an  old  law,  and  its  object  was  to 
keep  the  law-making  in  the  hands  of  those  who  held  land 
instead  of  those  who  were  poor,  or  who  were  even  wealthy 
but  had  no  land.  Many  people  believed  that  a  man  own- 
ing landed  property  would  have  a  greater  interest  in  the 
well-being  of  the  country  than  a  man  who  had  only 
money ;  and  as  for  the  working  people,  they  were  not 
thought  of  at  all. 

The  time  had  come  when  they  had  begun  to  think  for 
themselves.  Thousands  of  working  men  had  no  repre- 
sentation in  the  government,  and  they  began  to  hold 
meetings  and  to  discuss  their  rights.  Little  came  of  the 
movement  until  1848,  when  they  decided  to  send  a  pe- 
tition asking  that  every  man  in  the  kingdom  should  have 
the  right  to  vote,  that  the  property  qualification  for  mem- 
bers of  Parliament  should  be  abolished,  and  that  each 
member  should  receive  a  salary,  so  that  if  a  poor  man 
was  elected,  he  might  be  enabled  to  take  his  seat.  These 
were  three  of  the  six  demands  of  the  petition.  The  other 
three  were  for  annual  Parliaments,  for  vote  by  ballot,  and 
for  a  division  of  the  country  into  electoral  districts  of 
equal  population,  so   that   all   members   of   Parliament 


342  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1846-1849 

might  represent  the  same  number  of  men.  The  pe- 
titioners had  the  same  grievance  as  had  the  American 
colonies  —  taxation  without  representation.  Those  who 
were  trying  to  bring  this  representation  about  were  called 
"  Chartists,"  because  their  plan  was  set  forth  in  what  was 
called  the  "  People's  Charter." 

There  were  such  alarming  stories  of  the  millions  of 
names  that  would  be  on  this  charter,  and  the  million  of 
A  general  people  that  would  go  with  the  wagon-load  of 
*^*™^-  petition  to  the  doors  of  Parliament,  that  Lon- 
don was  greatly  alarmed.  Troops  were  drilled,  ready  to 
defend  the  capital,  and  no  less  a  man  than'  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  was  called  upon  to  command  them.  So 
much  was  done  that  there  was  a  vast  amount  of  amuse- 
ment when  it  was  found  that  the  "millions"  that  had 
seemed  so  startling  had  dwindled  to  a  small  number,  and 
that  all  the  fright  had  been  for  nothing.  The  Chartist 
demands  were  not  unreasonable,  and  several  of  the  re- 
forms called  for  have  since  been  either  wholly  or  partially 
accomplished. 

288.  Repeal  of  the  corn  laws.  1846-49.  There  were 
other  old  laws,  called  "corn  laws,"  that  were  bringing  dis- 
tress upon  great  numbers  of  people.  During  the  wars 
preceding  Victoria's  reign,  there  was  much  difficulty  in 
obtaining  "corn"  —  meaning  in  England  all  kinds  of 
grain  —  and  the  price  was  exceedingly  high.  When  a 
time  of  peace  came,  the  price  would  naturally  have  fallen, 
but  as  the  laws  were  in  great  part  made  by  land-owners 
and  in  their  interest,  a  heavy  duty  had  been  imposed  upon 
all  grain  brought  into  England.  This  was  an  exceed- 
ingly good  thing  for  the  land-owners,  but  not  so  good  for 
the  poor  people  who  worked  in  the  factories  and  had  to 
buy  their  bread.  In  1845  there  was  a  terrible  famine  in 
Ireland  because  of  the  failure  of  the  potato  crop,  and 


I854'i857]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER 


343 


Parliament  knew  that  thousands  of  Irish  would  stkrve  if 
they  could  not  have  cheap  bread.  Then  the  government 
yielded,  and  little  by 
little  the  corn  laws 
were  repealed. 

289.  The  Crimean 
War.  1854.  The 
Opium  War  had  been 
fought  in  order  to  sup- 
port England's  finan- 
cial interests.  She 
now  engaged  in  a  war 
against  Russia,  called 
the  Crimean  War. 
Russia  was  fighting 
with  Turkey,  and  was 
eager  to  get  possess- 
ion of  Constantinople, 
that  she  might  control 
the  Black  Sea  and  send 

her  fleet  into  the  Mediterranean  if  she  chose.    France  ob- 
jected, and  England  weakly  and  unnecessarily  joined  her. 
Both  sides  fought  bravely,  but  neither  made  any  great 
gain.     The  war  is  memorable  for  the  siege  of  , 
Sevastopol  and  for  the  charge  of  the  "  Light  the  Light 
Brigade  "  at  Balaklava,  which  Tennyson's  poem     '  ^*  ®" 
has  made  immortal.     It  is  memorable  also  for  the  fact 
that  the  English  war  department  was  so  inefficient  that 
thousands  died  for  the  want  of  proper  food  and  clothing. 
The  only  pleasant  thing  about  the  whole  matter  is  that 
this  was  the  time  when  Florence  Nightingale  began  her 
work  in  caring  for  the  sick  and  suffering  among  the 
soldiers. 

290.  The  Sepoy  Rebellion.     1857.     Hardly  was  the 


FLORENCE    NIGHTINGALE 


344  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1857-1861 

Crimean  War  brought  to  a  close  when  a  terrible  mutiny 
broke  out  in  India,  and  for  the  strangest  of  reasons. 
Even  though  the  people  of  the  conquered  country  seemed 
to  be  quiet,  the  English  well  knew  that  it  was  wise  to 
keep  up  a  strong  military  force.  This  had  been  done 
chiefly  by  filling  the  ranks  with  Mohammedans  and 
Hindus  serving  under  English  officers.  In  1857  a  new 
kind  of  rifle  was  introduced  that  required  cartridges 
greased  with  a  mixture  of  tallow  and  lard,  and  the  soldier 
was  obliged  to  bite  off  the  end  of  the  cartridge.  The 
Hindu  looked  upon  the  cow  as  sacred,  the  Mohamme- 
dan scorned  the  hog  as  unclean,  and  the  required  use 
of  this  new  cartridge  was  the  final  cause  of  the  fearful 
Sepoy  rebellion.  There  were  frightful  massacres  at 
Lucknow,  exhibiting  all  the  atrocities  of  barbaric  war- 
fare. The  English  had  brave  commanders,  but  few  men, 
and  the  cholera  was  raging.  Nevertheless,  they  won, 
and  their  vengeance  was  awful.  The  mere  death  of  the 
rebels  would,  they  believed,  impress  but  slightly  a  race 
that  cared  little  for  their  lives ;  and  the  most  brutal  of 
the  revolters  were  bound  to  the  mouths  of  cannons  and 
blown  to  shreds. 

291.  Civil  war  in  the  United  States.  In  1861  civil 
war  broke  out  in  the  United  States.  English  sympathy 
was  divided.  The  nobles  and  many  prominent  men  were 
inclined  to  favor  the  South,  while  a  few  clear-headed 
statesmen  and  the  masses  of  the  people  favored  the  North, 
even  though  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  cotton  from 
America  stopped  the  English  factories  and  caused  much 
suffering.  The  government  declared  officially  that  Eng- 
land would  aid  neither  side.  In  the  excitement  of  the 
times,  each  country  committed  an  act  that  might  easily 
have  led  to  war.  The  American  government  discovered 
that  the  Confederacy,  in  an  effort  to  secure  the  help  of 


1861-1862]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  345 

the  English,  was  sending  to  England  two  agents,  named 
Mason  and  Slidell.  They  were  on  board  a  mail  steamer, 
the  Trent,  but  an  enthusiastic  American  com-  The  Trent 
mander  boarded  her  and  seized  the  two  men.  *"*^- 
England  was  in  a  ferment.  Then  rose  John  Bright 
"the  great  peace  statesman,"  and  told 'the  nation  that 
the  American  government  would  in  all  probability  imme- 
diately disclaim  responsibility  for  the  act ;  but  that  even 
if  it  did  not,  this  seizure  was  not  nearly  so  bad  as  scores 
of  seizures  that  England  herself  had  made  before  the 
War  of  1 812.  He  reminded  them  that  the  United  States 
had  all  it  could  attend  to,  and  said  :  "  Did  you  ever  know 
anybody  who  was  not  very  nearly  dead  drunk,  who,  hav- 
ing as  much  upon  his  hands  as  he  could  manage,  would 
offer  to  fight  everybody  about  him  .? "  This  speech  was 
made  at  a  public  banquet,  and  it  was  reported  throughout 
the  kingdom.  The  United  States  immediately  declared 
that  the  seizure  was  made  without  the  knowledge  or 
approval  of  the  government,  and  that  episode  was 
ended. 

The  act  of  the  British  government  that  might  have  led 
to  war  was  that,  although  England  had  declared  that  she 
was  neutral,  she  allowed  the  Confederacy  not  ^^^ 
only  to  fit  out  swift  vessels  for  running  the  Alabama 
blockade  and  carrying  arms  and  other  things  to 
the  South,  but  to  build  a  privateer,  the  Alabama,  to  de- 
stroy the  merchant  vessels  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment.    The  Alabama  was  finally  sunk  by  the  Kearsarge, 
but  not  until  after  she  had  done  an  immense  amount  of 
damage.     When  the  war  was  over,  instead  of  the  Ameri- 
can claims  for  damages  being  settled  by  force  The  Geneva 
of   arms,  an   international    court  was   held  at  award. 
Geneva  to  decide  how  far  England  was  responsible  for 
the  harm  done  by  the  vessel.     This  court  decreed  that 


54^  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1868-1870 

^15,500,000  in  gold  was  a  fair  recompense,  and  England 
paid  the  sum  promptly  to  the  United  States. 

292.  Board  schools  established.  1870.  In  the  midst 
of  the  wars  of  the  century,  the  question  of  educating  the 
children  was  becoming  more  and  more  pressing.  When 
Victoria  first  cartie  to  the  throne,  there  were  few  schools 
in  which  children  who  could  not  pay  tuition  could  be 
educated.  Many  people  thought  that  the  poor  were 
meant  to  stay  poor  and  do  the  hard  work  of  the  world. 
Others  had  tried  to  do  what  they  could  and  had  given 
generously.  Perhaps  the  greatest  gift  of  all  was  that  of 
John  .Pounds,  a  shoemaker,  who  for  many  years  taught 
poor  children  without  charge  ;  five  hundred  in  all  he  had 
saved  from  ignorance.  The  government  had  made  some 
small  appropriations  for  the  schools,  and  the  churches 
had  done  what  they  could  ;  but  it  was  estimated  that  half 
the  children  in  the  kingdom  had  no  opportunity  to  learn 
to  read.  At  last  the  government  began  to  realize  that  it 
is  better  to  teach  children  to  become  good  citizens  than 
to  punish  them,  when  they  have  grown  up,  for  being  bad 
Theuniver-  o^^^ss,  and  "board  schools"  were  established, 
sities  open  They  are  not  yet  entirely  free,  but  the  tuition 
senters.  is  very  small.  At  about  the  same  date,  reli- 
^®'^^"  gious  educational  freedom  was  granted,  and 
then,  for  the  first  time,  a  Dissenter,  that  is,  one  who  is 
not  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England,  could  take  a 
degree  at  Oxford  or  Cambridge. 

293.  A  Jewish  prime  minister.  1868.  The  Jews 
had  been  treated  more  fairly  in  England  than  in  other 
countries,  but  even  in  England  they  had  not  found 
justice.  Edward  I.  had  expelled  them,  and  although 
Cromwell  allowed  them  to  return,  they  had  never  been 
able  to  enter  Parliament,  chiefly  because  they  would  be 
required  to  take  an  oath  "on  the  faith  of  a  Christian." 


1838-1869]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  347 

The  Commons  voted  to  modify  this  wording,   but  ten 

times  the  Lords  refused  to  agree.    At  last,  at  the  eleventh 

trial,  the  Lords  yielded,  and  in  1838  a  man  of  Hebrew 

birth  became  a  member  of  Parliament.    In  1868 

Empress  of 
he  was  made  prime  minister  of  England,  and  India. 

later  received  the  title  of  Lord  Beaconsfield.  ■^®^^' 

It   was   during  his  time  of  power  that  the  queen  was 

formally  proclaimed  Empress  of  India. 

294.  Irish  reforms.  Throughout  the  reign  of  Vic- 
toria, the  "Irish  question  "  was  a  pressing  matter.  One 
difficulty  after  another  rose  and  *' would  not  down." 
After  Daniel  O'Connell's  success  in  securing  parliament- 
ary representation  for  Roman  Catholics,  he  aimed  at 
nothing  less  than  a  free  Parliament  for  Ireland  and  a 
separation  from  England.  What  might  have  been  the 
result  if  the  life  of  this  earnest,  eloquent,  enthusiastic 
leader  of  the  people  had  been  prolonged,  it  is  not  easy  to 
say. 

One  great  cause  of  complaint  in  Ireland  was  that  all 
inhabitants,  of  whatever  church,  were  taxed  to  support 
the  Episcopal  church.  Another  was  the  famous  "  land 
question."  Vast  areas  of  Irish  land  were  owned  by  Eng- 
lish who,  perhaps,  had  never  been  in  Ireland,  and  had 
no  further  interest  in  the  country  than  to  see  that  the 
agents  were  prompt  in  forwarding  their  rents.  A  tenant 
might  be  driven  from  his  farm  at  any  moment.  If  he 
drained  a  swamp  or  cleared  a  bit  of  land  from  stumps 
and  stones,  his  rent  would  be  raised  because  the  land  had 

become  more  valuable.     Ireland  found  a  friend  „,  ^  ^ 

Gladstone, 
in  William  Ewart  Gladstone,   a  man  who,  as 

chancellor  of  the  exchequer  and  prime  minister,  was  for 

more  than  forty  years  the  most  prominent  statesman  in 

England.    Under  his  leadership  a  law  was  made  that  the 

Irish   should   not   be   taxed   to   support   the  Episcopal 


348 


ENGLAND'S    STORY 


[i 870-1 899 


WILLIAM    EWART 


\l;STONE 


Rule,' 


"Home 
Rule." 


church.  Gladstone  also 
succeeded  in  carrying 
through  a  law  that  the 
tenant  should  be  paid  for 
making  improvements, 
and  that  if  he  paid  his 
rent  he  should  not  be 
driven  from  his  farm  at 
the  whim  of  the  landlord. 
This  law  was  good,  but 
the  landlords  found  ways 
of  evading  it.  Then  a 
strong  party  arose  in  Ire- 
land demanding  "  Home 
should  rule  herself.  The 
Stuart  Parnell.     He  was  a 


Pamell. 


that  is,  that  Ireland 

leader  was  Charles 

calm,  cool  man,  but  many  of  his  followers  were 
hot-headed  and  violent ;  and  when  he  and  Gladstone  did 
not  work  in  accord,  there  were  murders  and  other  crimes 
in  Ireland,  and  there  was  fierce  vengeance  on  the  part 

of  the  English  government.     In  spite  of  this, 

Gladstone  still  struggled  in  behalf  of  Irish  home 
rule,  but  though  the  bill  was  finally  passed  by  the  Com- 
mons, it  was  defeated  by  the  Lords.  Within  the  last 
four  years,  an  improved  land  bill  has  been  passed,  and  a 
kind  of  local  self-government  has  been  established  in 
Ireland  by  which  each  little  district  elects  a  council  to 
manage  its  local  affairs. 

295.  The  Boer  War.  1899.  During  Victoria's  reign, 
England  fought  not  only  in  China,  the  Crimea,  and  India, 
but  now,  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century, 
she  is  fighting  in  South  Africa.  Cape  Colony  was  origi- 
nally settled  by  the  Dutch,  and  its  people  are  called  Boers, 
the  Dutch  word  iox  farmei's.     In  the  course  of  the  wars 


1834-1880]        THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER 


349 


with  Napoleon,  this  land  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Eng- 
lish. The  Boers  did  not  like  English  rule,  and  three 
times  they  abandoned  their  homes  and  went  farther  into 
the  wilderness,  —  to  Natal,  to  the  Orange  P'ree  State, 
and  to  the  Transvaal. 

About  thirty  years  after  this  last  removal,  some  of  the 


MAP    OF    BRITISH-BOER    WAR 


people  in  the  Transvaal  asked  England  for  help  in  their 
wars  with  the  natives  ;  and  a  little  later  England  declared 
that  the  Transvaal  had  become  a  part  of  the  British  em- 
pire. The  Boers  did  not  agree  and  began  war ;  ^aiuba 
and  in  1880  came  the  fearful  slaughter  of  the  ^^"-  ^^so. 
British  at  Majuba  Hill.  Peace  was  made,  giving  free- 
dom to  the  Boers  in  all  matters  of  local  government. 

Then  gold  was  discovered  in  the  Transvaal,  and  this 
new  interest  brought  swarms  of  people,  chiefly  English, 


350      *  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [1901 

to  that  country.  The  Boers  wished  to  have  their  land  to 
themselves,  while  the  English,  whether  they  came  to  stay 
or  merely  to  make  their  fortunes  and  go  home,  demanded 
all  the  rights  of  permanent  citizens.  The  Boers  refused, 
and  declared  war  against  England.  The  English  thought 
at  first  that  it  would  be  a  small  matter  to  suppress  the 
little  Dutch  country ;  but  although  England  has  put  into 
the  field  a  larger  number  of  soldiers  than  she  has  ever 
had  in  arms  before,^  the  war  has  been  going  on  for  very 
nearly  two  years,  and  the  little  country  is  not  yet  sub- 
dued (August,  1 901). 

296.  The  British  Empire.  In  all  the  history  of  do- 
minion, there  is,  perhaps,  nothing  more  astounding  than 
the  fact  that  part  of  one  small  island,  almost  without  allies 
or  even  well-wishers  in  her  conquests,  should  have  made 
herself  mistress  of  wide  possessions  in  Europe,  Asia, 
Africa,  America,  and  Australasia,  and  should  have  estab- 
lished her  control  over  nine  and  one-half  times  as  many 
people  as  there  are  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  Eng- 
land's colonial  expansion  during  the  reign  of  Victoria  is 
one  of  the  marvels  of  a  marvelous  age.  In  America, 
save  for  the  addition  of  the  islands  lying  to  the  north  of 
Hudson  Bay,  the  territories  of  England  have  but  slightly 
increased  during  the  last  sixty  years ;  but  vast  areas  of 
land  in  western,  southern,  and  eastern  Africa  have  fallen 
under  English  sway,  as  has  also  an  extensive  Indian  em- 
pire, only  a  small  portion  of  which  belonged  to  England 
at  the  accession  of  Victoria.  New  Zealand,  Tasmania, 
and  a  few  settlements  in  southeastern  Australia  were  in 
1837  the  limit  of  England's  possessions  in  Australasia, 
where  her  rule  now  extends  over  five  millions  of  people. 

The  feeling  of  England  toward  her  colonies  has  under- 
gone a  great  change  in  the  last  century.  One  hundred 
1  Larned's  History  of  England,  p.  627. 


I9th  Century]     THE   HOUSE   OF   HANOVER  351 

years  ago  she  regarded  a  colony  as  a  community  to  be 
despoiled,  so  far  as  it  might  be  done  under  pretense  of 
law  and  without  revolt.  Fifty  years  later,  a  colony  was 
to  her  an  encumbrance  which  she  was  obliged  to  treat 
with  some  show  of  interest  and  fairness,  but  upon  which 
favor  would  be  wasted,  since  the  natural  course  of  a 
colony  would  be  to  cut  loose  from  the  mother  country. 
Very  different  is  her  present  feeling.  England  now 
looks  upon  her  colonial  possessions  with  pride  in  their 
growth,  an  increasing  confidence  in  their  loyalty,  and  a 
realization  that  in  the  united  allegiance  of  her  widely 
separated  dominions  must  lie  her  strength. 

297.  Inventions  of  the  century.  The  nineteenth 
century  was  an  age  of  marvels,  and  if  a  man  who  lived 
in  1800  could  visit  the  world  to-day,  he  would  almost 
fancy  that  witchcraft  had  been  at  work.  He  would  find 
that  he  could  see  a  great  deal  more.  The  improved  tele- 
scope would  show  him  what  had  been  mysterious  because 
it  was  so  far  away,  and  the  microscope  what  had  been 
unsuspected  because  it  was  so  small,  while  the  x-rays 
would  enable  him  to  look  through  solid  substances.  He 
would  find,  moreover,  that  by  means  of  the  telephone 
he  could  hear  much  farther.  In  1800  the  only  way  to 
obtain  a  portrait  was  by  long,  wearisome  sittings  with 
an  artist ;  to-day  we  ask  a  ray  of  light  to  help  us,  and 
in  a  moment  we  have  a  photograph.  When  the  man 
of  1800  wished  to  forward  an  important  message,  he 
sent  a  courier  on  horseback.  We  use  the  telegraph, 
and  already  we  are  complaining  of  the  clumsiness  of 
the  slender  wire  and  are  looking  toward  "  wireless  tele- 
graphy." The  man  of  1800  made  his  journeys  in  a  stage 
coach.  We  are  a  little  inclined  to  grumble  at  a  speed  of 
fifty  miles  an  hour.  We  speak  of  the  industrial  revolu- 
tion of  one  century  ago,  but  we  have  an  industrial  revolu- 


352 


ENGLAND'S   STORY 


[19th  Century 


CHARLES    DICKENS 


tion  almost  every  day 
in  the  discovery  of 
some  new  process  of 
manufacturing ;  and 
almost  before  the  in- 
vention is  fairly  chroni- 
cled, a  greater  one  has 
taken  its  place.  The 
^^  ^^  man  of  1800  had  done 

tJ^^^^^^^^y      3|6v     hiswork  by  the  strength 
""©^  '^^^^^»^  \  _,^^.  -'-^*'    of  his  own  right  arm, 

and  was  feeling  as  if 
the  world  was  over- 
thrown by  the  intro- 
duction of  steam-driven 
machinery.  We  are  finding  that  electricity  can  do  more 
than  steam,  and  we  are  experimenting  eagerly  with  com- 
pressed air.  Who  can  tell  what  will  be  the  motive  power 
of  the  future  t  We  are  quite  accustomed  to  impossibil- 
ities, and  what  would  have  been  to  the  man  of  1800  only 
a  wild  flight  of  the  imagi-  • 
nation  is  to  us  but  the 
merest  commonplace  of 
every  day. 

298.  The  literature  of 
Victoria's  reign.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  look  back  upon 
a  century  that  is  long  past 
and  see  who  were  the 
greatest  writers,  but  the 
Victorian  age  is  so  near 
that  we  cannot  always  dis- 
tinguish the  books  that 
will  last  from  those  that  lord  tennyson 


I9th  Century]    THE    HOUSE    OF    HANOVER 


353 


are  liked  for  a  moment  and  then  forgotten.  The  great 
events  of  the  Elizabethan  period  stimulated  the  imagina- 
tion ;  but  the  marvellous  inventions  of  our  own  time  are 
just  as  exciting.  To-day  education  is  far  more  general. 
Every  one  wishes  to  write,  and  in  this  mass  of  writing 
there  is  much  that  is  really  excellent.  To  select  from 
the  long  list  of  authors  that  seem  to  be  great  is  not  easy. 
Tennyson  is  perhaps  the  first  of  the  poets.  Among 
historians,  the  name  of  Macaulay  is  most  familiar  to  the 
English  people  as  a  whole, 
partly  because  he  wrote 
a  history  of  their  own 
land,  but  chiefly  because 
his  style  is  so  clear  and 
interesting  that  his  books 
are  easy  to  read. 

Among  the  books  of 
whose  making  there  is 
no  end,  the  novel  holds 
the  most  prominent  place. 
Scott,  Dickens,  Thacke- 
ray, and  "  George  Eliot  " 
have  long  been  our  best 

known  writers  of  fiction,  four  authors  who  are  so  dis- 
similar that  the  popularity  of  all  is,  in  itself,  a  proof  that 
the  novel  is  enjoyed  by  all  kinds  of  people.  But  the 
object  of  the  novel  of  to-day  is  not  merely  to  give  plea- 
sure. Fiction  is  no  longer  a  source  of  amusement  and 
nothing  more ;  it  has  become  a  useful  servant.  If  one 
would  bring  forward  some  new  theory,  he  is  sure  of  a 
wide  reading  if  he  can  embody  it  in  an  interesting  story. 
If  a  new  play  is  needed,  a  popular  novel  is  dramatized. 
If  the  average  man  would  read  history,  he  is  inclined  to 
seek  the  historical  novel ;  and  frequently,  for  his  religion 


LORD    MACAULAY 


I 

354  ENGLAND'S    STORY  [19th  Century 

he  is  wont  to  imitate  the  idealized  hero  of  some  work  of 
the  imagination.  More  than  one  clergyman  has  left  the 
pulpit  that  by  bringing  forward  his  ideas  in  story  form 
he  might  preach  truth  to  thousands  instead  of  to  hun- 
dreds. 

Whither  this  tendency  will  lead  us  is  a  question. 
Who  shall  say,  for  instance,  whether  the  present  popu- 
larity of  the  novel  whose  whole  attention  is  given  to  its 
hero,  indicates  some  glorious  future  development  of  the 
power  to  delineate  character,  or  whether  the  frequent 
carelessness  of  the  rest  of  the  book  betokens  a  step  in 
the  path  that  leads  away  from  literary  merit  ?  Perhaps 
the  most  excellent  feature  of  this  ascendency  of  the  novel 
is  that  we  require  our  fiction  to  be  true  to  life.  Adven- 
tures must  be  probable,  characters  must  be  consistent, 
and  the  historical  novel,  if  it  would  have  more  than  a 
passing  fame,  must  be  the  work  of  the  student  as  well  as 
the  teller  of  stories. 

299.  Influence  of  Queen  Victoria.  There  were 
world-stirring  events  during  the  life  of  Queen  Victoria, 
but  no  one  of  them  held  so  steadily  the  interest  and 
attention  of  the  English-speaking  world  as  did  the  queen 
herself.  The  lives  of  few  sovereigns  have  been  as  open 
as  hers  in  every  act,  almost  in  every  thought.  We  know 
her  from  the  time  when  her  only  responsibility  was  the 
care  of  her  great  family  of  wooden  dolls  to  the  sad  Jan- 
uary day  of  1 90 1  when  her  life  c^me  to  its  close.  Only 
four  short  years  after  the  dolls  were  packed  away,  the 
young  girl  whose  every  motion  had  been  watched,  whose 
every  thought  had  been  guided,  must  stand  alone  at  the 
head  of  a  kingdom,  so  much  alone  that  even  the  mother 
could  not  come  to  the  daughter's  door  save  by  request 
of  the  queen. 

Her  twenty  years  of  marriage  with  Prince  Albert  were 


1837-1901]        THE   HOUSE    OF   HANOVER 


355 


the  happiest  period  of  her  life,  and  at  his  death  her  sor- 
row was  so  overwhelming  and  so  enduring  that  her 
people  felt  almost  impatient  with  her  avoidance  of  all 
social  life.  Neither  grief  nor  weariness,  however,  was 
allowed  to  interfere  with  the  hard  work  which,  from  the 
beginning  of  her  reign  to  its  close,  she  felt  was  de- 
manded by  her  position.  One  of  her  prime  ministers 
is  said  to  have 
declared  that 
he  "would  rather 
manage  ten  kings 
than  one  queen,"" 
for  she  would  do 
nothing  for  expe- 
diency and  would 
sign  no  papers 
that  she  did  not 
understand.  In 
the  year  of  the 
Chartist  excite- 
ment, for  instance, 
every  one  of  the 
28,000  despatches 
that  came  to  the 
foreign     office 

passed  through  her  hands  and  engaged  her  thoughts.    It 
was  no  easy  life  that  she  led. 

In  her  reign  there  were  "wars  and  rumors  of  wars," 
but  the  influence  of  Victoria  herself  was  always  for  peace. 
In  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil  War  in  America,  it  was  in 
great  measure  the  firm  hand  of  the  queen  that  kept  Eng- 
land anywhere  near  the  course  of  neutrality  that  the 
country  had  promised.  It  was  the  queen,  advised  by 
Prince   Albert,    who    insisted    upon   the    courtesy   and 


EDWARD  VII. 


356  ENGLAND'S   STORY  [1837-1901 

moderation  of  the  demand  made  by  the  English  govern- 
ment for  the  restoration  of  the  Confederate  passengers 
of  the  Trent,  and  it  was  she  who  urged  arbitration 
rather  than  war  when  the  question  of  the  "Alabama 
claims  "  must  be  decided.  In  her  the  Hanoverian  obsti- 
nacy and  corruptness  appear  as  firmness  and  purity. 
Marcus  Aurelius  says  that  it  is  "  hard  to  be  good  in  a 
palace,"  but  Queen  Victoria  showed  by  her  sixty-three 
years  in  "that  fierce  light  which  beats  upon  a  throne" 
that  the  promise  of  her  childhood  days,  "  I  will  be  good," 
made  when  she  first  knew  that  some  time  she  would  be 
queen  of  England,  was  as  sacred  to  her  as  the  solemn 
oath  of  her  coronation. 

300.  Edward  VII.  She  was  succeeded  by  her  son, 
Albert  Edward,  who  reigns  as  Edward  VII.,  and  who  in 
his  first  council  declared,  "  I  need  hardly  say  that  my 
constant  endeavor  will  be  to  walk  in  her  footsteps." 

SUMMARY 

The  position  of  both  sovereign  and  House  of  Lords  has 
undergone  steady  change,  and  the  real  power  lies  to-day  with 
the  House  of  Commons.  In  Victoria's  reign,  the  result  of 
the  Chartist  agitation,  of  the  repeal  of  the  corn  laws,  and  of 
the  admission  of  Jews  to  Parliament,  gave  increased  free- 
dom to  many  thousand  people,  while  "board  schools  "  made 
it  possible  for  a  much  larger  number  of  children  to  obtain  an 
education. 

In  this  reign  there  were  several  wars  :  the  "  Opium  War  " 
with  China ;  the  Crimean  War,  famous  chiefly  for  the  bravery 
of  the  soldiers  and  the  mismanagement  of  the  war  depart- 
ment ;  the  terrible  Sepoy  Rebellion ;  and  the  war  that  is  now 
going  on  with  the  Boers  in  South  Africa.  England  escaped  a 
war  with  the  United  States  by  the  apology  of  this  country  in 
the  matter  of  the  "  Trent  seizure,"  and  by  her  own  payment 


1837-1901]         THE   HOUSE    OF    HANOVER 


357 


for  damages  done  by  the  Alabama.  Although  there  was  no 
war  with  Ireland,  yet  the  demand  of  that  country  for  reforms 
has  long  been  a  pressing  question.  We  can  only  hope  that 
it  is  near  its  solution. 

The  literature  of  the  reign  is  of  immense  bulk  and  of 
widely  varying  value,  some  of  it  approaching  near  to  the 
most  excellent  work  of  the  past  ages.  The  growth  of  the 
British  empire  is  astounding,  and  the  progress  of  invention 
unprecedented. 

In  one  sense  the  reign  of  Victoria  was  a  "personal  mon- 
archy," for  by  the  irresistible  force  of  a  strong,  pure  woman- 
hood, she  attained  that  sovereignty  over  her  land  and  her 
people  for  which  arbitrary  and  tyrannous  rulers  have  vainly 
sought.  Well  may  the  laureate  of  her  time  bestow  upon  her 
the  highest  praise  that  a  woman  can  ask,  the  greatest  reward 
that  a  sovereign  can  receive  :  — 

"  She  wrought  her  people  lasting  good." 


33.  George  IV. 
1820-1830. 


HOUSE  OF  HANOVER 

30.  George  I. 
1714-1727. 

31.  George  II. 
1727-1760. 

Frederick,  d.  before  his  father. 

32.  George  III. 
1760-1820. 


34.  William  IV. 
1 830-1 83  7. 


Edward, 
d.  1820 
.    I   . 

35.  Victoria,  m. 
Prince  Albert  of 
Saxe-Coburg- 
Gotha. 

1837-1901. 

36.  Edward  VI L 
(of  Coburg). 

1901- 


y^ 


■x^L  y 


37  )L-^ 

1     rV.5     ..     M  


INDEX 


Acadia  (ica'dYa).    See  Nova  Scotia. 

Accused  men  allowed  to  have  lawyers, 
333. 

Addison,  Joseph,  282. 

^sop's  Fables,  translated  by  Henry  I., 
50  ;  printed  by  Caxton,  146. 

Agincourt  (Szhankoor'),  battle  of,  130;  map, 
64,  Dc. 

Alabama  claims,  345,  355,  356. 

Albert,  Prince  Consort,  340,  355. 

Alfred  the  Great,  statue  of  (frontispiece); 
reign  of,  24-27  ;  his  work  for  his  kingdom, 
25 ;  336  ;  map,  24. 

America,  discovered  by  Columbus,  160; 
voyages  of  the  Cabots,  160  ;  visited  by 
Frobisher,  205  ;  visited  by  Raleigh,  219, 
220 ;  founding  of  Jamestown,  220 ; 
of  Plymouth,  221 ;  of  Boston,  229  ;  of 
Pennsylvania,  258 ;  English  gains  in 
America  during  Anne's  reign,  286  ;  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  George  II.,  297,  300-302. 
See  Colonies  and  United  States. 

Andrew,  Saint,  284. 
\  Angevins  (Sn'ggvTns),    name,  64 ;  geneal- 
/      ogy  of,  122  ;  Angevin  empire  of  Henry 
II.,  map,  64. 

Angles,  14. 

Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  begins,  26  ;  38,  42, 
54,  56  ;  ends,  60. 

Anjou  (onzhoo'),  56  ;  map,  64,  Cd. 

Annapolis  (in  Nova  Scotia),  301. 

Anne,  character  and  portrait,  281  ;  her 
favorites,  285,  286. 

Anne  of  Cleves,  174,  175. 

Anne  of  Denmark,  picture,  217. 

Anselm,  Archbishop,  45,  50,  51. 

Arabs,  their  treatment  of  pilgrims,  47. 

Archer,  English,  picture,  109  ;  archers  at 
Cr«5cy,  108,  109  ;  at  Agincourt,  130. 

Armada  (arma'da),  the  Invincible,  200-204  ; 
picture,  203. 

Arthur,  King,  legends  of,  13,  61,  74,  75,  82, 
96,  101,  146. 

Arthur,  nephew  of  King  John,  82. 

Arthur,  son  of  Henry  VII.,  159,  167. 

Augustine  (S-gus'tin),  Saint,  preaches 
Christianity  in  England,  17,  18. 

Balaklava    (bSlacla'va),     battle    of,    343; 

map,  328,  Fb. 
Ball,  John,  113,  115;  picture,  113. 
Ballads,  101,  102  ;  ballad  of  Chevy  Chase, 

125;    influence     of    the    Robin    Hood 

ballads,  147  ;  Scott's,  326. 


BalUol,  (bSlliol),  John,  97. 

Baimockbum  (bSnn5kbQrn')  battle  of,  104. 

105 ;  map,  103, 
"  Barebone's  Parliament,"  246. 
Baronet,  218. 
Barons,    of     Henry    I.,    51;     cruelty    of 

Stephen's,   58 ;      John's     quarrel    with, 

84-88 ;    led    by    De    Montfort    oppose 

Henry  III.,  91-93  ;  condemn  Gaveston, 

104. 
Bastille  (basteel'),  with  picture,  314. 
Bayeux    (bayu'),  tapestry,    36 ;     pictures 

from,  32,  33,  35,  37. 
Beaconsfield,    Benjamin    Disraeli,    Lord, 

347. 
Beauclerc  (boclar'^,  49,  50.     See  Henry  I. 
Becket,   Thomas  a,   early  manner  of  life, 

66,  67  ;  contest  with  Henry  II.,  67-71  ; 

disputing  with  Henry  II.  (picture),  68  ; 

murder  of,  71;    with  picture,    70;  92; 

119. 
Bede,  the  Venerable,  19-21. 
Bedford,  John,  Duke  of.  Protector,  133, 

135. 
Beggars,  increase  of  and  laws  against,  172, 

173. 
Benevolences,  originated  by  Edward  IV., 

145;    abolished    by  Richard  III.,  150; 

revived  by  Henry  VII.,  158  ;  favored  by 

James  I.,  218;  a  form  of,  225;  vetoed 

by  Parliament,  226. 
Bengal,  Prince  of,  302,  303. 
Beowulf  (ba'owulf),  15-17. 
Bible,  translated  by  Wiclif,  118 ;  sold  in 

Germany,    145 ;    its  sale    forbidden    in 

England,   146;    translated    by  Tyndale, 

177  ;    translated    by   John    Eliot,    249 ; 

translated  in  time  of  James    I.,    214 ; 

copy  presented  to  Charles  II.,  254 
Black  Death,  111 ;    effect  on    villeinage, 

112,  113,  172. 
Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,  302. 
Black  Prince,  at  Poitiers,  with  picture  of 

effigy, 110;  death.  115. 
Blake,  Admiral  Robert,  medal,  247. 
Blenheim  (blen'im),  battle  of,  285 ;  palace 

of,  285  ;  map,  328,  Db. 
Blois  (blwa),  57. 
Blondel  (blondel'),  79. 
"Bloody  Assize,"  265. 
"  Blue-Coat  School."  See  Christ's  Hospital. 
Board  schools  established,  346.     See  Edu- 
cation. 
Boer  War,  348-350;  map  of,  349. 


36o 


INDEX 


Boleyn  (bSSl'Tn),  Anne,  early  life  of,  167, 
168;  marries  Henry  VIII.,  169  ;  is  exe- 
cuted, 173 ;  175,  183. 

Bonaparte,  Joseph,  321.  See  also  Napo- 
leon. 

Border  warfare,  124,  125. 

Boston,  founded,  229  ;  in  the  beginning  of 
the  American  Revolution,  309. 

Bosworth  Field,  battle  of,  152  ;  map,  64,  Cb. 

Bothwell,  James  Hepburn,  Earl  of,  197. 

Boyne,  battle  of  the,  270  ;  map,  231,  Cb. 

Braddock,  Gen.  Edward,  300. 

Brandon,  Charles,  104,  107,  180. 

Bright,  John,  345. 

Britain,  early  knowledge  of,  1 ;  Caesar's 
invasion  and  description  of,  3-7  ;  Caesar's 
landing  in  (picture),  3 ;  harassed  by 
Scots,  Picts,  and  Saxons,  9,  12  ;  gain  and 
loss  from  Roman  rule,  11 ;  described  by 
Bede,  20  ;  map  of  Roman  Britain,  8 ; 
7nap  of  Alfred's  Britain,  20. 

British  Empire,  growth  and  extent  of,  350. 

British  Kings,  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth's 
History  of,  60. 

Britons,  Caesar's  account  of,  3-7 ;  coracles 
of  (picture),  5  ;  under  the  Romans,  9-11 ; 
"Groans  of  the  Britons,"  12;  extermin- 
ated or  expelled  by  the  Saxons,  13 ;  de- 
scendants of,  90. 

Bruce,  Robert,  rival  of  Balliol,  97. 

Bruce,  Robert,  King  of  Scotland,  contest 
with  Edward  I.,  99;  besieges  Stirling 
Castle,  wins  at  Bannockburn,  104,  105. 

Building  operations  imder  Henry  III.  (pic- 
ture), 92. 

Bunyan,  John,  with  portrait,  258. 

Burke,  Edmund,  307. 

Burleigh  (bfir'le),  William  Cecil,  Lord,  193, 
199. 

Burning  at  the  stake,  the  first,  125.  See 
Persecution. 

Bums,  Robert,  326. 

By,  Danish  word  for  town,  25. 

Cabinet,  293. 

Cabot,  John  and  Sebastian,  160. 

Cadiz,  Drake  at,  201,  203 ;  map,  328,  Be. 

Caedmon  (kSd'mon),  early  English  poet,  18, 
19. 

Caesar,  Julius,  160.    See  Britain. 

Calais  (kala'),  capture  by  Edward  III., 
109,  110 ;  palace  of  Henry  VHI.  at,  164, 
165;  England  loses,  187,  188;  map,  &4, 
Dc. 

Calendar,  correction  of  the,  304. 

Cambridge,  University  of,  admits  Dissen- 
ters 346 

Canada,  English  conquest  of,  301,  302,  309. 

Cannon,  first  used  at  Cr^cy,  109 ;  picture 
of,  131 ;  of  state  under  control  of  king, 
155. 

Canterbury,  map,  26,  Dd. 

Canterbury  Cathedral,  scene  of  a  Becket's 
murder,  with  pieture,  70,  71 ;  penance  of 
Henry  II.  at,  71. 

Canterbury  Tales,  119,  120 ;  picture  of  pil- 
grims, 120  ;  printed  by  Caxton,  146. 

Canute  (kanuf),  27-29. 


Careless,  Colonel,  244,  255  ;  picture  of  his 
coat  of  arms,  255. 

Caroline,  Queen,  296. 

Castles  built  by  Normans,  39,  41 ;  picture, 
40 ;  destroyed,  05. 

Catholics,  in  England,  under  Henry  VIII., 
170,  171 ;  under  Mary,  184  ;  under  Eliza- 
beth, 190,  192,  198,  202 ;  under  Charles 
I.,  223,  224;  under  Charles  II.,  258,  201, 
202  ;  mider  James  I.,  213,  214,  210  ;  un- 
der James  II..  207-270 ;  under  William 
III.,  272  ;  Gordon  riots,  311,312  ;  in  Ire- 
land allowed  to  vote  for  members  of  Irish 
Parliament,  317  ;  Catholic  Emancipation 
act,  329  ;  disestablishment  of  the  Irish 
Church,  348. 

Cavaliers,  with  picture,  235. 

Caxton,  William,  145-147  ;  facsimile  of  his 
printing,  140. 

Cecil  (sg'sil),  Sir  WUliam.     See  Burleigh. 

Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade,  343. 

Charles  I.,  proposed  marriage,  218-220 ;  his 
theory  of  the  "  divine  right,"  222  ; 
treachery  in  regard  to  his  marriage,  222- 
224 ;  appearance  and  character,  222-224 ; 
portrait,  223;  his  illegal  taxation,  224, 
225;  rules  without  Parliament,  revives 
the  Star  Chamber  and  the  Court  of  High 
Commission,  228  ;  demands  "  ship- 
money,"  persecutes  the  Puritans,  228, 
229 ;  forces  the  Prayer  Book  on  Scotch 
Presbyterians,  230 ;  calls  the  "  Long 
Parliament,"  231 ;  has  trouble  in  Ire- 
land, 231-233 ;  tries  to  arrest  members 
of  Parliament,  233,  234 ;  is  executed,  238  ; 
picture  of  his  trial,  239,  299. 

Charles  II.,  seeks  the  throne  during  the 
Commonwealth,  242-245 ;  becomes  king, 
252-255-,  his  character  and  court,  with 
portrait,  250,  257  ;  persecutes  Dissenters 
and  Quakers,  258  ;  is  kind  to  sufferers 
by  the  Great  Fire,  260;  robs  the  trea- 
sury, 260 ;  is  plotted  against,  261 ;  death 
of,  262. 

Charles  V.  the  emperor,  164,  166,  169,  173. 

Charles  VII.  of  France,  135-138. 

Charles  Edward,  the  "  Young  Pretender," 
attempts  to  regain  the  throne,  297-299 ; 
portrait,  299. 

Charter,  of  Henry  I.,  51,  84 ;  of  Stephen, 
57;  of  Richard  I.,  78;  of  towns  disre- 
garded by  John,  83  ;  Magna  Carta,  with 
facsimile  extract,  85-87.     See  Chartists. 

Chartists,  341,  342,  355. 

Chatham,  Lord.     See  William  Pitt. 

Chaucer,  with  portrait,  119,  120 

Chester,  or  castra,  8. 

Chevy  Chase,  ballad  of,  125. 

Child-labor,  and  law  agamst,  332,  333. 

China,  Opium  War  with,  340,  341, 

Christianity  preached  in  England,  by  St. 
Augustine,  17  ;  in  Ireland  by  St.  Patrick, 
17. 

Christ's  Hospital,  179,  180. 

Church,  early  and  mediaeval :  Christianity 
preached  by  St.  Augustine,  17,  18; 
riches  of,  21, 22  ;  ignorance  of  the  priests 
in  Alfred's  time,  26.;  supports  William 


INDEX 


361 


RufuB  and  is  plundered  by  him,  43-45 ; 
supports  Henry  I.,  51;  punishments  of , 
67  ;  John's  quarrel  with,  82,  83  ;  neglects 
the  poor,  114,  117 ;  wealth  of,  128 ;  en- 
courages Henry  V.  to  make  war  upon 
France,  129 ;  (the  building)  as  a  refuge, 
149 ;  the  Protestant  Reformation  of,  107, 
170;  Henry  VIII.  becomes  head  of  the 
English  Church,  170 ;  introduction  of 
the  English  Prayer  Book,  178  ;  authority 
of  the  pope  restored  by  Mary,  184  ;  final 
separation  from  Church  of  Rome  by 
Elizabeth,  190 ;  number  of  members  in 
time  of  Elizabeth,  198. 

Churdh  of  England.  See  Church,  Puritans, 
and  Presbyterians. 

Church  of  Ireland,  disestablishment,  348. 
See  Catholics  and  Ireland. 

Civil  wars,  between  Stephen  and  Matilda, 
59,  60 ;  John  and  his  barons,  84-88 ;  of 
the  Roses,  140-142,  152,  155;  between 
Charles  I.  and  Parliament,  235-238 ;  in 
the  United  States.     See  United  States. 

Olive,  Robert,  with  portrait,  302,  303. 

Clyde  (River),  9  ;  map,  8. 

"  Coeur  de  Lion."    See  Richard  I. 

Coffee-houses,  283. 

Coinage,  punishment  of  coiners  debasing, 
53 ;  monopolized  by  Henry  II.,  65 ;  de- 
based by  Henry  VIII.,  171. 

Coin,  colonia,  9. 

Colonial  expansion,  350. 

Colonies,  in  America.  See  America  and 
United  States.  England's  feeling  to- 
wards, 306,  312,  350,  351. 

Columbus,  Christopher,  160. 

Commons.     See  Parliament. 

Commonwealth,  time  of,  241-246 ;  picture 
of  seal  of,  245. 

"Confessor,"  the.  See  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor. 

Congressional  Library,  burned  in  War  of 
1812,  324. 

Constantinople,  captured  by  the  Turks, 
166  ;  map,  328,  Eb. 

Constitution  (Old  Ironsides),  with  picture, 
324,  325. 

Convents,  early  wealth  of,  22.  See  Monas- 
teries. 

Copenhagen,  battle  of,  320;  m,ap,  328,  Da. 

Coracles  of  early  Britons,  picture,  5. 

Cornishmen,  268. 

Corn-laws,  and  repeal  of,  342,  343. 

Comwallis,  General  Lord,  311. 

Coronation  chair,  picture,  98. 

Corporation  Act,  repeal  of,  328,  329. 

Costume,  pictm-es  of,  in  the  time  of  Henry 
I.,  52,  54  ;  in  the  tune  of  Richard  I.,  81 ; 
in  the  15th  century,  140  ;  In  the  time  of 
Henry  VII.,  159 ;  in  the  time  of  Eliza- 
beth, 194 ;  of  soldiers  in  the  time  of 
Charles  I.,  225 ;  in  the  time  of  Charles 
II.,  261  ;  in  the  time  of  George  I.,  291 ; 
in  the  time  of  George  II.,  300. 

Court  of  High  Commission,  228,  231. 

Courts,  cruelty  of  the,  67 ;  of  the  barons', 
73;    district    courts  of  Henry  II.,  73; 


require  the  English  language,  114;  un- 
fairness of,  139. 

Cowton  Moor,  battle  of,  59 ;  map,  64,  Cb. 

Cranmer,  Archbishop  Thomas,  compiles 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  178  ;  burned 
at  the  stake,  186. 

Cr^cy  (krgs'si),  battle  of,  108,  109  ;  result 
of.  111,  112,  130,  172 ;  map,  64,  Dc. 

Crimean  War,  343. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  attempts  to  sail  to 
America,  229 ;  his  "  Ironsides,"  236  ; 
commands  the  army,  237  ;  seizes  Charles 
I.,  238  ;  holds  chief  power,  241,  242 ;  pic- 
ture, 242 ;  his  Irish  campaign,  242,  243 ; 
his  Scotch  campaign,  243  ;  dissolves  Par- 
liament, 245 ;  becomes  Lord  Protector, 
246 ;  increases  the  naval  power  of  Eng- 
land, and  protects  the  Waldenses,  248 ; 
permits  the  return  of  the  Jews,  is  kind  to 
the  Quakers,  sends  missionaries  to  the 
American  Indians,  249  ;  last  years,  death, 
and  burial,  250,  251 ;  his  body  beheaded, 
255. 

Cromwell,  Richard,  251. 

Cromwell,  Thomas,  with  portrait,  174,  175. 

Crossbowmen,  Genoese,  at  Cr^cy,  with 
picture,  108. 

Crusades,  46-48  ;  effigy  of  a  crusader,  47  ; 
connection  with  the  legend  of  the  Holy 
Grail,  75 ;  Richard  I.  as  a  crusader,  78, 
79  ;  the  children's  crusade,  93,  94  ;  gain 
from  94  95  •  112. 

Culloden  (cul-io'den),  battle  of,  298 ;  map, 
103. 

Curfew,  41. 

Da  Gama,  161 . 

Danes,  harass  England,  10,  22-25 ;  coming 

of  the,  picture,  23  ;  ad  kingfrof  England, 

27-29 ;  descendants  of,  97. 
Darnley,  Henry  Stuart,  Lord,  196. 
Dauphin,  French,  invited  to  rule  England, 

87. 
Dauphin  (Charles  VII.),  135-138. 
Declaration    of  Independence,  American, 

270 ;  of  Indulgence,  329. 
"  Defender  of  the  Faith,"  167,  170. 
Defoe,  Daniel,  266. 
Deserted  Village,  326. 
Dettingen,  battle  of,  297  ;  map,  328,  Ca. 
Dickens,  Charles,  353  ;  portrait,  352. 
Dictator  over  English  language,  325. 
Dictionary,  compiled  by  Johnson,  325. 
Directorate,  318. 
Discoveries,  of  Coliunbus,  the  Cabots,  and 

Vasco  da  Gama,  160-162  ;  of  Drake,  201 ; 

of  Raleigh  and  Frobisher,  205. 
"  Divine  right,''  the  belief  of  James  I.,  216, 

217;  of  Charles  L,  222;  of  James  XL,- 

266,  267,  273,  290. 
Douglas  family,  125. 

Dover,  cliffs,  picture  of,  2  ;  mnp,  236,  Dc. 
Drake,  Sir  Francis,  with  picture,  201 ;  vice 

admiral,  202 ;  203. 
Dress,  expense  of,  in  Elizabeth's  time,  194. 
Druids,  the,  5-7. 

Dudley,  Lord  Guilford,  180-182, 186. 
Dudley,  Robert.    See  Leicester. 


3^2 


INDEX 


Dunbar,  battle  of,  243 ;  map,  64,  Cb. 

Dunkirk,  acquired  by  England,  248  ;  sale  of, 
260  ;  map,  328,  Ca. 

Du  Quesne,  Fort  (in  America),  300. 

Durham,  map,  236,  Ca. 

Durham  Cathedral,  picture,  50. 

Dwellings,  of  Britons,  4,  9  ;  of  Romans  in 
Britain,  9  ;  of  Saxons  (picture),  15  ;  of  rich 
and  poor  in  Elizabeth's  time,  193-195. 

East  India  Company,  302,  308. 

Ecclesiastical  History,  20 ;  translated  by 
AKred  the  Great,  26. 

Kdgehill,  battle  of,  236 ;  mop,  236,  Cb. 

Education,  convent  schools  in  early  Eng- 
land, 19,  22;  encouraged  by  Alfred  the 
Great,  25,  26  ;  board  schools  established, 
346.     See  Learning. 

Edward  I.,  as  prince,  91 ;  goes  on  a  crusade, 
93;  his  representative  Parliament,  96; 
conquers  Wales  and  gives  it  a  prince,  96, 
97 ;  tries  to  conquer  Scotland,  97-99  ; 
banishes  the  Jews,  99,  100  ;  death,  99. 

Edward  II.,  favorites  of,  104,  105 ;  is  de- 
posed, 105, 106. 

Edward  HI.,  marches  against  Scotland, 
106 ;  seeks  the  French  crown,  107-111. 

Edward  rv.,  accession,  141,  142;  loses  the 
support  of  Warwick,  144  ;  portrait,  144  ; 
is  restored  to  the  crown,  144: ;  originates 
"  benevolences,"  145 ;  149. 

Edward  V.,  148-151 ;  in  the  Tower,  picture, 
151 ;  impersonated  by  Warbeck,  157. 

Edward  VI.,  birth,  173;  175;  character, 
176 ;  portrait,  177  ;  hears  Latimer  preach, 
177 ;  Prayer  Book  of,  178 ;  establishes 
schools,  179,  180;  his  will  and  death, 
181 ;  andiiis  council,  picture,  179. 

Edward  Vlf^,  356. 

Edward  the  Confessor,  becomes  king,  30 ; 
promises  his  crown  to  William  of  Nor- 
mandy, 31  ;  recommends  Harold,  32 ; 
builds  Westminster  Abbey,  36;  107. 

Egbert,  "  King  of  the  English,"  21 ;  drives 
away  the  Danes,  24. 

Elba,  322  ;  map,  328,  Db. 

Eliot,  John,  249. 

Elizabeth,  birth  and  early  life,  173,  175, 
181,  183,  186,  188;  portrait,  189;  acces- 
sion, 189 ;  declares  herself  a  Protestant, 
190 ;  is  crowned,  190,  191 ;  is  carried  in 
state,  picture,  191 ;  her  difficulties,  191- 
193  ;  manner  of  living  in  her  reign,  193- 
195;  conduct  toward  Mary  of  Scotland, 
195-200;  excommimicated,  205;  English 
devotion  to,  205 ;  Elizabethan  literature, 
205-208  ;  character,  208,  209. 

Elizabeth  (of  York),  Lancaster  and  York 
united  by  her  marriage  to  Henry  VII., 
with  her  portrait,  156. 

Emma,  27  ;  marries  Canute,  29,  30. 

Empress  of  India,  Victoria  proclaimed  as, 
347. 

*'  English  and  Spaniards,"  186. 

*'  EngUsh  Pale,"  72 ;  map,  231,  Cb. 

Epitaph  of  Charles  II.,  256,  257. 

Erie  (Lake),  Perry*B  victory  on,  325. 

Essays  of  Elia,  327. 


Essex,  Robert  Derereux,  Barl  of,  232. 

Evangeline,  301. 

Evesham,  battle  of,  91-93 ;  map,  64,  Cb. 
"  Exclusion  Bill,"  262. 
Excommunication,   70 ;    of  John,    83 ;    of 

Luther,   167 ;    of  Henry  VIII.,  171 ;   of 

Elizabeth,  202. 

Factories  built,  323;  law  r^ulatiug  chil- 
dren's labor  in,  332. 

Faijry  Queen,  206. 

Fairfax,  Sir  Thomas,  237. 

Famine  in  Ireland,  342. 

Favorites,  of  Edward  II.,  104,  105;  of 
James  I.,  217,  218  ;  of  Anne,  285,  286. 

Fawkes,  Guy,  216. 

Ferdinand,  king  of  Spain,  159,  160. 

Feudalism  in  England  under  the  Con- 
queror, 37,  38 ;  affected  by  scutage,  66  ; 
by  the  crusades,  94,  95 ;  by  Cr^cy,  111 ; 
by  the  Black  Death,  112 ;  disappearance 
of,  155 ;  remains  of,  in  France,  313. 

"  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold,"  165. 

Fire-sliips,  204. 

Fisher,  Bishop  John,  171. 

Flanders,  ally  of  England,  107  ;  map,  64. 
Dc;  fine  weaving  introduced  from,  112; 
Caxton  living  in,  145. 

Flodden  Field,  battle  of,  164 ;  mop,  236 
Ba. 

Florence,  the  refuge  of  Greeks  in  1453, 166. 

Florida,  302. 

Forth  (River),  9 ;  map,  8. 

Fotheringay  Castle,  200 ;  map,  236,  Cb. 

France,  subdued  by  Caesar,  1 ;  English  pos- 
sessions in,  73 ;  English  possessions  in 
France  forfeited  by  John,  82 ;  the  Hun- 
dred Years'  War,  107-138,  passim ;  map 
of  English  lands  in  France  in  1429,  134 ; 
Joan  of  Arc's  deliverance  of,  135-138; 
England  fears  becoming  a  province  of, 
196 ;  influence  of  France  on  English  lit- 
erature in  Anne's  time,  282 ;  opposes 
Maria  Theresa,  296,  297  ;  French  power 
in  India,  302;  recognizes  American  Inde- 
pendence, 310 ;  declares  war  against 
England,  316,  317.  See  Revolution, 
French. 

Francis  I.,  king  of  France,  164-166. 

Francis  II.,  king  of  France,  195,  196. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  307,  308. 

Frederick  the  Great,  299. 

Freedom  of  the  press,  272. 

French  and  Indian  War.  See  Seven  Years' 
War. 

French  language,  spoken  at  the  English 
court,  60  ;  romances  brought  to  England, 
60 ;  learned  by  the  English,  100 ;  Eng- 
lish borrows  words  from,  100;  French- 
men learn  English,  100. 

Frobisher,  Martin,  202,  205. 

Froissart,  110. 

Gaddis,  or  Geddes,  Jane,  230. 
Gama  (ga'ma),  Vasco  da,  161,  162. 
Gaveston,  Piers,  104. 

Genealogy,  of  Norman  kings,  63 ;  of  An- 
gevins,   122;    of  Lancaster,  York,   and 


INDEX 


363 


Tudor  sovereigns,  154;  of  the  Tudors, 
210;  of  the  Stuarts,  288;  of  the  Han- 
overians, 357. 

Geneva  award,  345,  346. 

Genoese  crossbowmen,  with  picture,  108, 
109. 

Gentleman,  the  knight  the  ideal,  76. 

Geoffrey  of  Anjou,  56,  59,  64. 

Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  60,  74. 

George  I.,  accession,  with  picture,  289; 
his  treatment  of  James  Edward's  sup- 
porters, 291  ;  his  absence  from  cabinet 
meetings,  293,  294. 

George  II.,  accession,  294;  opposes  Wal- 
pole,  295,  296  ;  portrait,  296 ;  fights  at 
Dettingen,  297  ;  his  unpopularity,  303. 

George  III.,  as  Prince  of  Wales,  295,  296  ; 
accession,  character,  with  portrait,  305, 
306 ;  his  persistency  in  the  American 
Revolution,  310;  acknowledges  the  in- 
dependence of  the  United  States,  311  ; 
his  simplicity,  316,  317 ;  opposes  reli- 
gious freedom,  318  ;  regency  of  his  son, 
324  ;  literature  during  his  reign,  325-327. 

George  IV. ,  as  regent,  324 ;  accession, 
character,  with  portrait,  327,  328. 

"  George  Eliot,"  353. 

George,  Saint,  284. 

Gibraltar,  285,  286  ;  viap,  328,  Be. 

Gladstone,  William  Ewart,  with  picture, 
347,  348. 

Glastonbury,  abiding  place  of  the  Holy 
Grail,  74. 

Globe  Theatre,  picture,  208. 

Gloucester,  Duke  of,  uncle  of  Henry  VI., 
133. 

Godwin,  Earl  of  Wessex,  29. 

"  Golden  Age  of  English  Literature,"  206. 

Goldsmith,  Oliver,  325. 

Gordon  riots,  311,  312,  316. 

Government,  origin  of  some  modem  cus- 
toms of,  293,  294. 

Grand  Pr^  (pra)  (in  Nova  Scotia),  301. 

"  Grand  Remonstrance,"  233. 

Great  Britain,  formation  of  the  kingdom, 
283. 

"  Great  Commoner."    See  William  Pitt. 

"  Great  peace  statesman,"  345. 

Greeks  arouse  interest  in  the  old  know- 
ledge, 166;  Greek  scorned  by  the  Eng- 
lish clergy,  166. 

Greenland,  205. 

Gregory,  Pope,  17. 

Grendel,  15,  16. 

Grey,  Lady  Jane,  with  jKtrtrait,  180,  181 ; 
sent  to  the  Tower,  182 ;  her  twelve  days' 
reign,  182 ;  Mary  signs  her  death  war- 
rant, 186. 

"  Groans  of  the  Britons,"  12. 

Guilds,  195,  206. 

Gunpowder  Plot,  with  picture  of  the  con- 
spirators, 214-216. 

"  Guy  Fawkes's  Day,"  216. 

Hadley  (in  Massachusetts),  255. 

Hampden,  John,  attempt  to  sail  to  America, 
229 ;  refuses  to  pay  unjust  taxes,  with 
portrait,  230 ;  killed  in  battle,  237. 


Hanging  Stones,  7. 

Hanover,  fears  of  George  II.  for,  299  ;  his 
interest  in,  303  ;  England  free  from,  336. 
House  of  Hanover,  genealogy  of,  357 ; 
map,  328,  Ca. 

Harbingers,  186. 

Harfleur  (arfier')  besieged  by  Henry  V., 
130  ;  map,  64,  Dc. 

Harold,  Earl  of  Wessex,  in  Normandy,  31, 
32;  at  the  battle  of  Senlac,  34-36. 

Harsh  treatment  of  children,  134,  171 ;  of 
Lady  Jane  Grey,  181. 

Hastings,  battle  of.     See  Senlac. 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  202. 

Henry  I.  (Beauclerc)  receives  silver  from 
his  father,  42,  43  ;  accession  and  charter, 
51  ;  invades  and  conquers  Normandy,  52 ; 
punishes  coiners  and  regulates  "purvey- 
ing," 53;  his  severe  taxation,  54  ;  mar- 
riage, 55 ;  loses  his  son,  55 ;  plans  for 
Matilda  to  succeed  him,  56 ;  death,  56. 

Henry  II.  (Plantagenet),  64 ;  destroys 
castles,  65  ;  reforms  the  coinage,  65  ;  in- 
troduces scutage,  65  ;  his  contest  with  a 
Becket,  66-71 ;  his  penance  at  Canter- 
bury, 71 ;  subdues  part  of  Ireland,  72  ; 
his  judicial  reforms,  73 ;  death,  74. 

Henry  III.,  the  first  child  king,  with  pic- 
ture of  his  coronation,  89,  90  ;  demands 
money  to  secure  the  Sicilian  crown,  91  ; 
opposes  de  Montfort  and  the  other  bar- 
ons, 91-93;  building  during  his  reign, 
picture,  92. 

Henry  IV.,  chosen  by  Parliament,  121  ; 
his  Welsh  campaign,  123-125 ;  makes 
war  upon  France,  124 ;  portrait  of  Henry 
and  his  court,  124 ;  his  relations  with  his 
son,  126 ;  death,  126,  128. 

Henry  V.,  as  prince,  126,  127 ;  generosity 
to  his  foes,  128  ;  partially  conquers 
France,  129-132 ;  death,  132. 

Henry  VI.,  unhappy  childhood,  133,  134; 
his  French  lands,  133-138 ;  "becomes  in- 
sane, 139  ;  captured  by  the  Earl  of  War- 
wick, 141 ;  deposed,  142 ;  restored,  144 ; 
imprisoned,  145. 

Henry  VII.,  betrothed  to  the  daughter  of 
Edward  IV.  of  York,  151 ;  wins  at  Bos- 
worth  Field  and  is  crowned,  152;  por- 
trait, 156;  methods  of  raising  money, 
157,  158 ;  does  not  aid  Columbus^  sends 
the  Cabots,  160;  chapel  of,  picture,  161. 

Henry  VIII.,  early  traits,  with  portrait, 
162-164 ;  meets  Francis  near  Calais,  164 ; 
his  interest  in  the  Renaissance,  166  ;  be- 
comes "Defender  of  the  Faith,"  167; 
his  struggle  for  a  divorce  from  Katha- 
rine and  his  marriage  to  Anne  Boleyn, 
167-170;  his  persecutions,  170,  171; 
seizes  the  smaller  monasteries,  debases 
the  coinage,  171  ;  executes  Anne  and 
marries  Jane  Seymour,  173 ;  marries 
Anne  of  Cleves,  174 ;  divorces  her,  175 ; 
his  will,  175,  177,  180,  183;  planned  a 
marriage  for  his  son  with  Mary,  Queen  of 
Scots,  195. 

History  of  British  kings,  60 ;  history  writ- 
ten, 60,  101,  102. 


3^4 


INDEX 


Holland,  the  Pilgrims'  refuge,  221 ;  rela- 
tions with  England  during  the  Protector- 
ate, 247,  248  ;  loses  New  Netherland,  260, 
261 ;  the  aUy  of  England,  284. 

Holy  Grail,  legend  of,  74  ;  connection  with 
the  crusades,  75. 

Holy  Land,  ruled  by  Arabs,  46,  47 ;  ruled 
by  Turks,  47,  78,  93,  126. 

"  Home  Rule,"  for  Ireland,  348. 

Hood,  Robin,  ballads  of,  101  ;  their  influ- 
ence on  the  English  people,  147. 

Hooper,  John,  Bishop,  186. 

"  Hotspur,"  Harry  Percy,  so-called,  125, 
128. 

Howard,  Admiral,  202,  209. 

Hudson  Bay,  286. 

Hundred  Years'  War,  cause,  107 ;  in  time 
of  Edward  III.,  107-111 ;  115 ;  ends,  138 ; 
effects  of,  139,  141. 

"  Inclosing,"  172,  178,  179. 

Independents,  go  to  America,  221 ;  in  the 
war  between  Charles  I.  and  Parliament, 
237,  238,  241. 

India,  English  rule  established  in,  302,  303  ; 
Sepoy  mutiny,  344  ;  Victoria  proclaimed 
Empress  of  India,  347. 

Inquisition,  185. 

Interdict,  John's  kingdom  placed  under,  82. 

Inventions,  steam  engine  and  machines  for 
spinning  and  weaving,  323  ;  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  351,  352. 

Ireland,  early  churches  and  schools  in,  17 
partially  subdued  by  Henry  II.,  72: 
ruled  by  John,  72  ;  "  Strongbow  "  in,  72 
review  of  England's  connection  with,  231, 
232;  revolt  against  Charles  I.,  233;  sup- 
ports Charles  II.,  242  ;  Cromwell's  cam- 
paign in,  243  ;  supports  James  II. ,  274- 
277 ;  the  English  Parliament  claims  the 
right  to  make  laws  for,  292;  Roman 
Catholics  shut  out  of  the  Parliament  of, 
292;  Irish  Parliament  represents  only 
members  of  the  Church  of  England,  312, 
313;  commercial  limitations  of,  312; 
raises  troops  and  demands  reforms,  313 ; 
obliged  to  support  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, 317  ;  Reign  of  Terror,  317,  318 ; 
Irish  allowed  to  vote  for  Protestants  as 
members  of  the  Irish  Parliament,  317  ; 
united  with  England,  317  ;  attempts  of 
Fraifte  and  Spain  to  free,  318 ;  the  Irish 
flag  and  the  "  Union  Jack,"  picture,  318  ; 
famine  in,  342 ;  the  "  land  question," 
347 ;  Church  of  England  disestablished 
in,  348 ;  gain  in  the  land  tenure,  348 ; 
"  home  rule,"  348 ;  local  self-government 
granted,  348 ;  map  of,  231. 

*' Ironsides,"  236. 

Isabella,  child  queen  of  Richard  II.,  121 ; 
sent  back  to  France,  124. 

Isabella,  queen  of  Spain,  159,  160. 

Jacobites.  274,  299. 

"  Jacques"  (shak),  284. 

James  I.,  birth,  196;  proclaimed  king  of 
Scotland,  197  ;  accession,  appearance, 
211 ;  portrait,  212 ;  confers  with  Puritan 


ministers,  213  ;  his  belief  in  the  "divina 

right,"  216,  217  ;  favorites,  conflict  with 
Parliament,  217, 218;  dealings  with  Spain, 
218-220;  executes  Raleigh,  219;  death, 
221. 

James  II.,  comes  to  England  with  Charlee 
II.,  253;  259,  260,261,  262;  accession, 
203  ;  Monmouth's  rebellion  and  James's 
revenge,  263-266  ;  arbitrary  rule  of,  266, 
267  ;  attempts  to  restore  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church  to  power  in  England,- 267, 
268 ;  imprisons  the  five  bishops,  268  ;  por- 
trait, 269  ;  abdicates  the  throne,  269,  270  ; 
tries  to  regain  the  throne,  274-278; 
death,  280.  ^ 

James  Edward  (the  Pretender),  280,  283, 
286;  attempts  to  gain  the  crown,  290, 
291,  298. 

Jamestown,  220. 

Jeanne  (zhSn)  d'Arc.     See  Joan  of  Arc. 

Jeffreys,  Judge  George,  with  portrait,  265, 
266 ;  death,  270. 

Jerusalem,  46;  ruled  by  Saracens,  75,  79, 
94 ;  map,  328,  Fc. ;  Jerusalem  Chamber, 
126. 

Jesuits,  199. 

Jews,  robbed  for  the  crusade  of  Richard  I., 
78 ;  robbed  by  John,  83 ;  banished  by 
Edward  I.,  99,  100  ;  allowed  to  return  by 
Cromwell,  249 ;  in  Parliament,  346,  347. 

Joan  (jon)  of  Arc,  with  picture  of  statue, 
135-138. 

John,  rules  Ireland,  72  ;  rebels  against  his 
father,  74;  tries  to  keep  Richard  I.  in 
prison,  80 ;  murders  (?)  his  nephew,  loses 
his  French  lands,  82  ;  quarrels  with 
church  and  barons,  82-88 ,  his  cruelty 
and  injustice,  83;  signs  Magna  Caiiia, 
85;  death,  88. 

Johnson,  Samuel,  325. 

Jonson,  Ben,  207. 

Jutish  boat,  picture,  13. 

Katharine  of  Aragon,  marries  Prince 
Arthur,  159, 160  ;  marries  Henry  VIII., 
167,  173,  175. 

Kensington,  Palace  of,  335. 

Kent,  map,  26,  Dd  ;  king  of  Kent  accepts 
Christianity,  17,  18. 

King  George's  War.  See  War  of  the  Aus- 
trian Succession. 

"  King  Monmouth."     See  Monmouth. 

"  King  of  the  English,"  title  assumed  by 
Egbert,  21. 

"  King's  Champion,"  328. 

"King's  War,"  the,  310. 

Kirke,  Colonel  Percy,  265. 

"  Kirke's  Lambs,"  205.    • 

Knighthood,  becoming  a  knight,  with  pic- 
ture, 76,  77  ;  the  good  and  the  bad  in, 
77  ;  effigy  of  a  knight,  78 ;  picture  of 
knights  in  armor,  129 ;  knights  at  Agin- 
court,  130,  131. 

"  Knights  of  the  Royal  Oak,"  257. 

Labrador,  205. 

"  Lackland,"  82. 

Lafayette  (lafayef),  Marquis  de,  310,  315. 


INDEX 


36s 


La  Hogue  (lahog'),  naval  battle  of,  278  ; 
map,  328,  Ca. 

Lamb,  Charles,  326,  327. 

Lancaster,  House  of,  conflict  with  House 
of  York,  140-152,  passim ;  genealogy  of 
kings  of,  154. 

Land,  belonging  to  the  king,  37,  38  ; 
changes  in  ownership  caused  by  tlie 
crusades,  94,  95  ;  land,  not  people,  re- 
presented in  Parliament,  331. 

Land  question,  the  Irish,  347,  348. 

Langland,  William,  writes  "  Piers  Plow- 
man," 114. 

Langton,  Archbishop  Stephen,  82 ;  leads 
the  barons  against  John,  84. 

Language,  the  English,  William  the  Con- 
queror tries  to  learn  it,  39 ;  spoken  by 
the  masses  of  the  people,  GO ;  gained 
many  new  words  from  the  French,  100, 
101  ;  courts  of  justice  require  English, 
114;  becomes  the  literary  language,  120  ; 
laws  prhited  in,  150  ;  used  in  the  church 
service,  178  ;  softened  by  the  French,  205. 

Language,  French,  used  at  court,  GO.  See 
Language,  the  English. 

Language,  Latin,  used  in  church  and  con- 
vent, 20,  GO  ;  Alfred  the  Great  translates 
Latin  books  into  English,  26 ;  Henry  I. 
translates  from  Latin  to  English,  50; 
used  by  George  I.,  289. 

Latimer,  Bishop  Hugh,  preaches  before 
Edward  VI.,  177  ;  burning  of,  186. 

Laud,  Archbishop, William,  227,  228,  231. 

Learning,  of  the  Druids,  7  ;  of  early  Ire- 
land, 17 ;  classic  learning  revived  (Re- 
naissance), 166. 

Leicester  (lester),  Robert,  Earl  of,  193. 

Leopold  (le'opold),  Duke  of  Austria,  78, 
79. 

"  Levelers,"  241. 

Literature,  English,  Csedmon,  18,  19 ; 
Bede,  19-21  ;  Beowulf,  epic  of,  15-17 ; 
Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  begun,  26 ;  ended, 
60  ;  King  Alfred's  writings,  26  ;  history 
written,  60,  101  ;  ballads  of  Robin  Hood, 
101 ;  Langland  writes  Piers  Plowman, 
114;  Chaucer,  119,  120;  ballads,  not 
books,  composed  in  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries,  146,  147 ;  of  the 
Elizabethan  age,  203-208  ;  plays  in  the 
time  of  James  I.,  217;  Milton  writes 
Paradise  Lost,  248,  249,  with  picture  of 
Milton ;  Bunyan  writes  Pilgrim's  Pro- 
gress, 258;  Defoe  writes  Robinson 
Crusoe,  266  ;  the  age  of  prose,  281,  282  ; 
novel  of  home  life,  in  reign  of  George  II., 
303  ;  of  reign  of  George  III.,  325-327; 
of  Victoria's  reign,  352-354. 

Loire  (River)  (Iwar),  134  ;  map,  64,  Cd. 

London,  map,  26,  Cd.,  gives  vessels  to 
meet  the  Armada,  202;  threatened  by 
James  I.,  218;  Great  Plague  in,  259; 
Great  Fire  of,  259,  260;  robbed  by 
Charles  II.,  260 ;  independence  of,  under 
James  II.,  268  ;  set  fire  to  in  the  Gordon 
riots,  312. 

Londonderry,  founded,  232,  233 ;  siege  of, 
275,  276 ;  map,  231,  Ca. 


"  Long  Parliament,"  231. 

Longfellow,  Henry  Wadsworth,  26,  301. 

Louis  XIV.,  260  ;  supports  James  II.,  275, 

277,  278,  280. 
Louis  XVI.,  315. 
Louisburg,  297. 

Lucknow,  massacres  at,  344.  • 

Luther,  Martin,  107,  170. 

Macaulay,  Lord  Thomas  Babington,  with 
portrait,  353. 

Macdonald,  Flora,  299. 

Magna  Carta,  with  facsimile  extract  from, 
85-87. 

Majuba  Hill,  349  ;  map,  3id. 

Map,  Walter,  74. 

March,  Edmund  Mortimer,  Earl  of,  121, 
123,  125,  128,  140. 

Marcus  Aurelius,  356. 

Margaret,  wife  of  Henry  VI.,  141-144. 

Maria  Theresa,  296,  299. 

Marlborough,  Jolui  Churchill,  Duke  of, 
with  portrait,  284-286. 

Marlborough,  Sarah,  Duchess  of,  with  por- 
trait, 285,  286. 

Marlowe,  Christopher,  207. 

Marston  Moor,  battle  of,  237  ;  map,  236, 
Cb. 

Mary  I.  (Mary  Tudor),  disinherited  by 
Parliament,  173,  175,  181  ;  proclaimed 
queen  and  crowned,  182,  183  ;  early  life, 
183  ;  her  religion,  marriage,  184-186  ;  per- 
secution of  Protestants,  186,  187 ;  de- 
serted by  Philip,  187  ;  loses  Calais,  187  ; 
contrast  between  her  early  life  and  Eliz- 
abeth's, 188. 

Mary  II.,  marriage  to  William  of  Orange, 
269  ;  accession  jointly  with  her  husband, 
269,  270  ;  portrait,  273  ;  repels  the  inva- 
sion of  Louis  XIV. ,  with  commemorative 
medal,  278  ;  character,  279. 

Mary  (sister  of  Henry  VIII.),  164,  167, 
180. 

Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  early  life,  195 ;  claim 
to  the  English  throne,  with  portrait,  196 ; 
marries  Lord  Darnley,  196  ;  resigns  the 
Scotch  throne,  197 ;  escapes  from  Loch- 
leven  and  flees  to  England,  197,  198  ;  is 
imprisoned  and  executed,  199,  200. 

Masham,  Mrs.,  favorite  of  Queen  Anne, 
286. 

Mason,  James  Murray,  Confederate  com- 
missioner to  England,  345. 

"  Master  Aylmer,"  181. 

Matilda,  wife  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
33,36. 

Matilda,  wife  of  Heni-y  I.,  55. 

Matilda,  daughter  of  Henry  I. ,  chosen  by 
her  father  as  his  successor,  56  ;  her  con- 
test with  Stephen,  57-60. 

Mayflower,  the,  221. 

Mediterranean  (Sea),  Roman  territories 
about,  7  ;  control  of,  sought  by  Napo- 
leon, 319  ;  sought  by  Russia,  343. 

Methodism,  rise  of,  294,  295. 

Milan,  Duchess  of,  refuses  to  marry  Heniy 
VIII.,  173. 

Milton,  John,  with  portrait,  248,  249. 


366 


INDEX 


Minstrel,  with  picture,  101,  102 ;  salary  of, 
147. 

Mistress  of  the  Robes,  336. 

Monarchy,  early  character  of,  216,  217 ; 
Egbert  of  Wessex  rises  to  supremacy, 
21  ;  Danish  conquest  of  the  crown,  27 ; 
election  of  Harold  (not  of  the  royal 
family),  32 ;  William  the  Conqueror  be- 
comes king  by  conquest  (32-36)  and  by 
election  (36);  charter  of  Henry  I.,  51; 
the  question  of  succession  to  the  crown 
on  the  death  of  Henry  I. ,  55  ;  election  of 
Stephen,  60  ;  election  of  Henry  II.,  60  ; 
election  of  John,  82;  Magna  Carta 
signed,  85;  Henry  III.,  the  first  child 
king  chosen,  88  ;  beginnings  of  a  repre- 
sentative Parliament,  91 ;  Parliament 
deposes  Edward  II.  and  gives  the  crown 
to  Edward  III.,  105  ;  Richard  II.  is  de- 
posed, and  Parliament  gives  the  crown 
to  Henry  IV.,  121;  Wars  of  the  Roses 
between  the  rival  royal  houses  of  York 
and  Lancaster,  140-152,  passim;  usur- 
pation of  Richard  III.,  150  ;  accession 
of  Henry  VII.  by  victory  of  Bosworth 
Field,  152  ;  despotic  rule  of  Henry  VIII., 
170,  175  ;  succession  to  the  crown  ar- 
ranged by  Parliament's  confirmation  to 
the  king's  will,  175  ;  accession  of  Mary 
Tudor,  the  first  female  sovereign,  182  ; 
religious  dictation  of  the  Tudors,  170, 
178,  184,  191,  192  ;  claims  of  Elizabeth 
and  of  Mary  Stuart  to  the  crown,  195, 
196  ;  the  crowns  of  England  and  of  Scot- 
land united  under  James  I.,  212  ;  James's 
assertion  of  the  "divine  right,"  216; 
his  arbitrariness,  217  ;  conflict  of  Charles 
I.  with  Parliament,  224-229,  231,  233- 
235  ;  civil  war  between  Charles  I.  and 
Parliament,  execution  of  the  king,  and 
overthrow  of  the  monarchy,  235-241 ; 
restoration  of  the  monarchy,  252  ;  failure 
of  the  "  Exclusion  Bill,"  262;  arbitrary 
rule  and  forced  abdication  of  James  II., 
266-270  ;  Parliament  gives  the  crown  to 
William  and  Mary,  270 ;  limitations  of 
the  sovereign  agreed  to  by  William, 
271 ;  Parliament  gives  the  throne  to 
Anne  (280),  and  after  her  to  the  House 
of  Hanover  (286)  ;  under  George  I. ,  the 
sovereign's  power  decreases,  289 ;  two 
political  parties,  Whigs  and  Tories,  290 ; 
Walpole  establishes  government  by  the 
cabinet  and  by  the  ministers,  293,  294 ; 
attempted  increase  of  the  royal  powers 
under  George  III.,  305;  limitations  of 
the  royal  power,  336-338. 

Monasteries,  seized  by  Henry  VIII.,  171; 
Parliament  refuses  to  restore  the  land  of, 
184. 

Monk  (mungk).  General  George,  251,  252. 

Monmouth,  the  Duke  of,  proposed  for  the 
throne,  262 ;  rebellion  of,  with  portrait, 
262-265. 

Monmouth,  Geoffrey  of,  61,  74. 

"  Monopolies,"  228. 

Montcalm  (mSncam'),  Marquis  de,  301. 

Montfort,    Simon   de,    leads    the    barons 


against  Henry  III.,  91-93 ;  his  work,  93, 
96. 

Mora,  the,  33. 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  171. 

Mortimer,  Edmund,  Earl  of  March,  121. 

Mortimer,  favorite  of  the  mother  of  Ed- 
ward II.,  105-107. 

"  Morton's  Fork,"  158. 

Moscow,  321. 

"Mrs.  Freeman,"  285. 

"Mrs.  Morley,"  286. 

Mystery  plays,  with  picture,  61-63,  207. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  his  rise  to  power,  318  ; 
his  wars,  with  portrait  and  medal  to 
commemorate  his  expected  conquest  of 
England,  319-322;  becomes  first  consul 
and  then  emperor,  320  ;  his  defeat  at 
Waterloo  and  exile,  322. 

Naseby,  battle  of,  237  ;  map,  236,  Cb. 

Naseby  (vessel).     See  "  Royal  Charles." 

Natal  (natal'),  349  ;  map,  349. 

"  Navigation  Laws,"  247. 

Navy,  of  England,  begun  by  Alfred  the 
Great,  27  ;  at  the  time  of  Harold,  34 ;  at 
the  time  of  the  Armada,  202 ;  war  ship 
of  Henry  VIII.,  picture,  165 ;  naval 
glory  under  Cromwell,  247  ;  in  conflict 
with  France  and  with  the  United  States, 
325. 

Nelson,  Admiral  Horatio,  with  portrait,  in 
the  battle  of  the  Nile,  319 ;  in  the  Baltic 
and  off  Trafalgar,  320. 

New  England  Primer,  186. 

New  Forest,  41  ;  map,  26 ;  scene  of  the 
death  of  Richard  and  of  William  Rufus, 
48. 

Newfoundland,  160,  286. 

New  Isle.     See  Newfoundland. 

New  Jersey,  nicknamed  "  Spain,"  321. 

New  Orleans,  battle  of,  325. 

New  York,  260,  261. 

Nightingale,  Florence,  with  portrait,  343. 

Nile,  battle  of  the,  319 ;  map,  328,  Fc. 

"  Non- jurors,"  273. 

Norman,  vessel,  picture,  33 ;  conquest,  35, 
36 ;  castles  in  England,  with  picture,  39, 
40;  influence  in  England,  43;  soldiers, 
picture,  44 ;  kings,  genealogy  of,  63. 

Normandy,  sons  of  Emma  brought  up  in, 
29 ;  Harold  wrecked  on  coast  of,  31 ; 
united  with  England  under  William  the 
Conqueror,  36 ;  willed  to  Robert,  42 ; 
mortgaged  to  William  Rufus,  46;  con- 
quered by  Henry  I.,  52 ;  lawlessness 
under  Stephen,  58  ;  conquest  by  Geoffrey 
of  Anjou,  59;  lost  by  John,  82;  map, 
64,  Dc. 

North,  Lord  Frederick,  308,  311. 

North  Cape,  discoverer  of,  26. 

Northumberland,  John  Dudley,  Duke  of, 
178-182. 

Northumbria,  20. 

Northwest  Passage,  205. 

Nottingham,  235,  270  ;  map,  236,  Cb. 

Nova  Scotia,  acquired  from  France,  286  ; 
possession  confirmed,  301. 

Novels,  historical    novels   of    Scott,  326; 


INDEX 


367 


present  popularity  of  novels,  353,  354 ; 
of  home  life,  303,  326. 

"  Oak-apple  Day,"  255,  256. 

Gates,  Titus,  261. 

Oath,  chief  men  swear  to  support  Matilda, 
56;  barons  swear  to  oppose  John,  84; 
chief  men  swear  allegiance  to  Edward  I., 
95 ;  oath  of  fealty  to  Edward  II.  re- 
nounced, 105,  106;  oath  taken  by  Wil- 
liam III.,  272 ;  of  allegiance  to  William 
III.  refused  by  non-jurors,  273  ;  required 
by  the  Test  Act,  329. 

O'Connell,  Daniel,  329,  347. 

Odo,  half  brother  of  William  the  Con- 
queror, 38,  39. 

"  Old  Ironsides,"  with  picture,  324,  325. 

Opium  War,  340,  341. 

Orange  Free  State,  with  map,  349. 

Orleans  (orla'5n),  siege  of,  135-137  ;  map, 
64,  Dd. 

Oxford,  Matilda  escapes  from,  59  ;  map,  64, 
Cc  ;  early  library  of  University  of,  118  ; 
University  of,  admits  Dissenters,  346. 

Page,  duties  of,  76, 

Pale,  the  English,  232  ;  map,  231,  Cb. 

Palestine,  47. 

Paradise  Lost,  249. 

Parliament,  beginning  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  91  ;  the  first  organized  repre- 
sentative Parliament,  96  ;  gains  power  by 
the  Hundred  Years'  War,  139  ;  members 
not  freely  elected,  139 ;  expulsion  of  Pres- 
byterians from,  238  ;  House  of  Lords  abol- 
ished (241),  and  restored, 252 ;  dissolution 
of,  by  Cromwell,  245,246;  "Barebone's," 
246  ;  reforms  in  electing  members  of,  331, 
332  ;  limitations  and  value  of  the  Lords, 
338,  339  ;  power  of  the  Commons,  339  ; 
limitations  of  membership  of  the  Com- 
mons, 341 .     See  also  Monarchy. 

Parties,  religious,  in  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
192  ;  Cavaliers  and  Roundheads,  235  ;  in 
the  time  of  the  Commonwealth,  241  ;  in 
time  of  William  and  Mary,  273,  274 ; 
Whigs  and  Tories  in  time  of  George  I. , 
290. 

Patrick,  Saint,  preaches  in  Ireland,  17. 

Peasants'  Revolt,  115-117. 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  336. 

Penance  of  Henry  II.,  71. 

Peninsular  War,  321. 

Penn,  William,  258. 

Pennsylvania,  258. 

"  People's  Charter,"  342. 

Pepys  (peps),  Samuel,  254,  257,  259. 

Percy,  Harry  (Hotspur),  125,  128. 

Perry,  Oliver  Hazard,  325. 

Persecution,  religious,  first  burning  at  the 
stake,  125  ;  under  Henry  VIII.,  170, 171  ; 
under  Mary,  184-187  ;  under  James  I., 
214,  220  ;  under  Charles  I.,  229  ;  of  Wal- 
denses,  248  ;  under  Charles  II.,  257,  258  ; 
of  Scotch  Presbyterians,  under  James  II. , 
267. 

Peter  the  Hermit,  47. 

Petition,  of  peasants  to  Richard  II.,  116 ; 


of  Puritans  to  James  I.,  213 ;  "Petition  of 

Rights,"226,  227.     See  Chartists. 
Pevensey  (pgvSn'sey),  34  ;  map,  26,  Dd. 
Philip  of  Castile,  159. 
Philip  of  France,   as  a  crusader,  78 ;    at- 
tempts to  imprison  Richard  I.,  79,  80; 

deprives  John  of  his  French  lands,  82  ; 

son  of  Philip,  invited  to  rule  England,  87. 
Philip  II.  of  Spain,  marries  Mary  I.,  with 

portrait,  184-186  ;  deserts  her,  187  ;  woos  ' 

Elizabeth,  190  ;  sends  the  Armada,  200- 

204. 
Philippa,  wife  of  Edward  III.,  pleads  for 

the   citizens  of  Calais,  110  ;  introduces 

fine  wool  weaving,  112. 
Picts,  harass  England,  9,  12,  13  ;  descend- 
ants of,  97. 
"  Piers  Plowman,"  114. 
Pilgrimage,  to  Canterbury,  see  Canterbury 

Tales ;  of  Canute,  28 ;  a  deed  of  merit, 

46. 
"  Pilgrim  Fathers,"  220,  221. 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  258. 
Pitt,  William  (Lord   Chatham),  307,  309; 

with  portrait,  310. 
Plague,  the  Great,  259. 
Plantagenet   (plantaj'enet),   derivation   of 

the  word,  64 ;  king  at  table,  picture,  96 ; 

genealogy  of  royal  house,  V2fl. 
Plays,   m   Elizabeth's  time,   206,   207  ;   in 

time  of  James  I.,   217  ;  scorned  by  the 

Puritans,  249,  250.     See  Mystery  Plays. 
Plymouth,  203  ;  map,  236,  Ac. 
Plymouth  (in  the  United  States),  221. 
Poetry,  in  Elizabeth's  time,  206  ;  in  Anne's 

time,  282  ;  in  time  of  George  III.,  325, 

326. 
"  Poet's  poet."     See  Spenser,  206. 
Poitiers  (pwatYa'),  battle  of,   110 ;   map, 

64,  Dd. 
Poor,  sufferings  of  the,  under  Henry  VIII., 

171,  172 ;  sufferings  of  renters  of  small 

farms,  177-179 ;   hard  lives  of  the,  195 ; 

suffering    caused    by  the    invention    of 

machinery,  323. 
"Poor  Priests,"  117. 
Pope,  Alexander,  282. 
"Poundage,"  224. 
Pounds,  John,  346. 
Prayer  Book,  the  English,  compiled,  178; 

forced  upon  the   Scotch  Presbyterians, 

230. 
Presbyterians,  211,   213,  230  ;  conflict   be- 
tween them  and  the  Puritans,  236-238 ; 

241 ;  persecuted  in  Scotland  by  James  II., 

267. 
"  Pretender."     See  James  Edward. 
"  Pride's  Purge,"  238. 
"  Prince  Charlie."     See  Charles  Edward. 
"  Prince  of  Wales,"  origin  of  the  title,  96, 

97. 
Printing,  invented  and  brought  to  England, 

145,   146;    facsimile    of    Caxton's,   146; 

effect  upon  the  Renaissance,  166. 
Protectorate,  the,  246-252. 
Protestant  Reformation,  beginning  of,  167. 
Pimishments,  severity  of,  323. 
Puritans,  Puritanism,  rise  of,  192  ;   under 


368 


INDEX 


James  I.,  213,  220,  221 ;  under  Charles 
I.,  229,  235,  236,  249, 250  ;  under  Charles 
II.,   257,  258;    ministers  in  the  Great 
Plague,  259. 
Purveyors,  brought  under  laws,  53. 

Quakers,  249,  258,  267. 
Quebec,  capture  of,  301. 
Queen  Aime's  War.     See  War  of  the  Span- 
*     ish  Succession. 

Raleigh  (rS'li),  Sir  Walter,  202,  205 ;  with 
portrait,  219. 

Rasselas  (ras'elas),  325,  326. 

Reformation,  begun  by  teachings  of  Luther, 
167;  170. 

Regicides,  254,  255. 

Reign  of  Terror,  in  France,  316  ;  in  Ireland, 
317,  318. 

Renaissance,  166. 

"  Restoration  "  of  Charles  II.,  252. 

Revolution,  American,  the  Stamp  Act,  with 
picture  of  stamp,  306-308 ;  beginning  of 
the  war,  309-311 ;  its  close,  311. 

Revolution,  French  ;  oppression  of  French 
peasants,  313-315;  destruction  of  the 
Bastille,  with  picture,  314;  excesses  of 
the  revolutionists,  315,  310  ;  the  Reign  of 
Terror,  316  ;  English  feeling  towards, 
316,  317. 

Revolution,  industrial,  323. 

Revolution  of  1688,  269,  270. 

Rheims  (rimz),  136-138  ;  map,  64,  Ec. 

Richard  I.,  revolts,  75;  his  name,  Coeurde 
Lion,  77  ;  character  of,  77,  80 ;  as  a  cru- 
sader, 78 ;  imprisonment  and  ransom, 
with  picture,  79  ;  taxes  his  people,  78  ; 
death,  80,  81. 

Richard  II.,  meets  an  angry  mob,  115, 116  ; 
marries  the  child  Isabella  of  France,  is 
deposed,  121  ;  imprisonment  of,  123 ;  his 
body  shown  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  123. 

Richard  III.,  becomes  Protector,  148;  be- 
comes king,  abolishes  benevolences, 
prints  the  laws  in  English,  murders  (?) 
his  nephews,  150,  151  ;  is  slain  at  Bos- 
worth  Field,  152. 

Richard,  Duke  of  York  (died  1460),  his 
claim  to  the  throne,  140,  141 ;  is  slain  in 
battle  and  leaves  a  son,  who  becomes 
Edward  IV.,  141. 

Richard,  son  of  Duke  Robert,  killed  in 
the  New  Forest,  48. 

Ridley,  Bishop  Nicholas,  186. 

"  Right  of  Search,"  .324. 

Rizzio  (ret'seo),  David,  196. 

Robert,  half-brother  of  William  the  Con- 
queror, 38. 

Robert,  son  of  William  the  Conqueror,  42, 
43,  46 ;  with  effigy.  47,  48,  50-53. 

Robinson  Crusoe,  266. 

"  Rocket,"  the  first  locomotive,  picture, 
334. 

Rogers,  John,  with  picture,  186. 

Roman  Britain,  map  of,  8 ;  walls,  with 
picture,  9,  10  ;  rule  in  Britain,  11. 

Roman  Catholic  Church.  See  Catholic 
Church.  I 


Romans,   at  home,  7 ;    in  Britain,   8-10  ; 

leave  Britain,  10. 
Rome,  Canute  makes  a  pilgrimage  to,  28 ; 

value  of  a  pilgrimage  to,  46. 
Roses,  Wars  of.    See  Wars  of  the  Roses. 
"  Rotten  boroughs,"  331,  332. 
Rouen  (roo5n'),  244  ;  map,  64,  Dc. 
Roundheads,  with  picture,  235,  236. 
"  Royal  Charles,"  with  picture,  253. 
"  Royal  Oak,"  255,   256.     See  Knights  of 

tlie  Royal  Oak. 
Runuymede,   with  picture,  85;    map,  64, 

Cc. 
Rupert,  Prince  of  the  Palatinate,  237. 
Russia,  Napoleon's  invasion  of,  321 ;  fights 

with  Turkey,  343. 
Rye  House  Plot,  261. 

"  Sailor  King."     See  William  IV. 

Sahit  Helena,  322. 

Salisbury  (sSlz'bury),  Plain,  7  ;  map,  26,  Cd. 

Sanctuary,  right  of,  149 ;  at  Westminster, 
with  picture,  149. 

Saracens  (sar'asgnz),  rule  Jerusalem,  75; 
79,91. 

Saxon,  epic.  See  Beowulf.  Saxon  ordeals, 
73 ;  names  for  days  of  the  week,  15. 

Saxons,  harass  and  then  conquer  Britain, 
12,  13;  on  the  Continent,  14-17  (with 
map,  14) ;  as  slaves  in  Rome,  17  ;  Chris- 
tianity preached  to,  17,18;  of  the  same 
race  as  the  Danes,  22. 

Schelde  (schel'de)  (River),  English  victoty 
near  mouth  of,  107. 

Scone  (skoon).  Stone  of  Scone,  carried  to 
England,  with  picture,  98 ;  map,  103  ; 
James  I.  crowned  on,  212  ;  Charles  II. 
crowned  at,  243. 

Scotland,  Irish  origin  of  the  Scots,  9 ; 
Roman  forts  across,  9 ;  Edward  I.  be- 
comes overlord  of,  97  ;  Scotch  resistance 
to  Edward  I.,  97-99  ;  to  Edward  II.  by 
Robert  Bruce,  104,  105  ;  border  warfare, 
124 ;  supports  Perkin  Warbeck,  157 ; 
war  with  England  in  reign  of  Henry 
VIII.,  164;  attempt  of  Henry  VIII.  to 
win  the  hand  of  Mary,  Queen  of  ^cots, 
for  his  son,  and  Mary's  marriage  to 
Francis,  Dauphin  of  France,  195 ;  Mary's 
claim  to  the  English  throne,  195,  190; 
her  widowhood  and  marriage  first  to 
Lord  Darnley,  then  to  the  Earl  of  Both- 
well,  196,  197  ;  her  deposition  and  escape 
to  England,  197-199 ;  her  execution,  199, 
200  ;  accession  of  her  son  James  to  the 
English  throne,  211  (See  James  I.). 
revolts  against  the  required  use  of  the 
English  Prayer  Book,  230;  "Solemn 
League  and  Covenant  "  with  the  English 
Parliament  against  Charles  I.,  237  ;  sur- 
render of  Charles  I.  to  the  Scots,  and 
their  surrender  of  him  to  the  Presbyte- 
rian Parliament,  237,  238 ;  attempts  of 
Charles  (II.)  to  secure  the  English 
throne  and  battle  of  Worcester,  242, 
243;  Stuart  line  restored,  252;  Scotch 
Presbyterians  persecuted  by  James  II., 
Jacobite    risings,    274-277 ;    290,    291 : 


INDEX 


369 


297-299  ;  England  and  Scotland  united, 
283,  284;  historical  map  of  Scotland, 
103. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  326,  353. 

Scutage  introduced  by  Henry  11.,  65. 

Sea-power.     See  Navy. 

Seax  (sa'ax),  14. 

Seizin  (se'zin),  34. 

Senlac,  or  Hastings,  map,  26,  Dd  ;  battle  of, 
with  picture,  35,  36. 

Separatists-,  221. 

Sepoy  mutiny,  343,  344. 

Sevastopol  (sevaato'pol),  siege  of,  343 ; 
map,  328,  Fb. 

Seven  bishops,  imprisonment  of  the,  268. 

Seven  Years'  War,  299-302. 

Severn  (River),  243  ;  map,  26,  Bd. 

Seymour,  Jane,  173. 

Shakespeare,  William,  with  portrait,  207  ; 
his  theatre,  the  Globe,  with  picture,  208. 

Sheep-raising,  172. 

"  Ship-money,"  229. 

Shovel  (shuv'l).  Sir  Cloudesley,  285. 

Shrewsbury,  battle  of,  125;  viap,  64,  Cb. 

Sicily,  son  of  Henry  III.  suggested  as 
ruler  of,  90,  91. 

Simnel,  Lambert,  156. 

Slavery  abolished  in  England's  West  In- 
dian colonies,  333. 

Slidell  (slidel'),  John,  Confederate  com- 
missioner to  England,  345. 

Snuth,  Captain  John,  220. 

Soldiers,  in  time  of  Charles  I.,  picture, 
225. 

"  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,"  237. 

Solway  (River),  9  ;  198  ;  map,  8. 

Somerset  (sum'erset),  Edward  Seymour, 
Duke  of,  177-179. 

Songs  of  Elizabeth's  time,  206. 

South  Sea  Bubble,  292. 

Spain,  England's  fear  of  becoming  a  pro- 
vince of,  185 ;  the  Spanish  Armada, 
200-204;  connection  of  James  I.  with 
(Spanish  marriage  question),  218-220  ; 
attempts  to  aid  Ireland,  318  ;  asks  Eng- 
land's aid  against  Napoleon,  321. 

"  Spain,"  nickname  of  New  Jersey,  321. 

"Spectator,"  282. 

Spenser,  Edmund,  206. 

Squire,  duties  of,  becoming  a  knight,  with 
picture,  76,  77. 

Stamp  Act,  with  picture  of  stamp,  308. 

Standard,  battle  of  the,  with  picture  of  the 
Standard,  59. 

Star  Chamber,  158,  228,  231. 

Steam  engine  invented,  323. 

Stephen,  accession,  grants  charter,  57  ;  his 
contest  with  Matilda,  57-60  ;  in  Nor- 
mandy, 58;  his  death,  60  ;  64,  65. 

Stephenson's  locomotive,  picture,  334. 

Stirling  Castle,  with  picture,  105  ;  map, 
103. 

Stonehenge  (ston'henj),  with  picture,  6,  7  ; 
map,  8. 

Stratford,  Sir  William  Wentworth,  Earl  of, 
228,  229,  231,  233. 

"  Strongbow  "  becomes  a  king  in  Ireland, 
72. 


Stuart  sovereigns,  genealogy  of,  288. 

Sully,  Maximilien  de  Bethune,  Due  de, 
212. 

Sweyne  (swan),  king  of  England  and  Den- 
mark, 27. 

Sympathy,  after  the  Black  Death,  112  ;  in 
the  reign  of  William  IV.,  334. 

Tabard  Inn  (tab'ard),  119. 

Tam  O'Shanter,  326. 

Taunton,  203. 

Taxation,  under  Henry  I.,  54 ;  undei 
Richard  I.,  78  ;  under  John,  83;  twelve- 
penny  tax  of  Richard  II.,  115  ;  freedom 
of  church  lands  from,  150  ;  severe  taxa- 
tion unsafe,  157  ;  under  James  I.,  218  ; 
certain  taxes  given  to  the  sovereigns, 
224;  under  Charles  I.,  225,  228-230  ;  of 
the  American  colonies,  306-309 ;  pro- 
posal for,  must  come  from  the  Commons, 
339. 

Tennyson,  Alfred,  Lord,  13,  74,  343,  353; 
portrait,  352. 

Test  Act,  repeal  of,  328,  329. 

Thackeray,  William  Makepeace,  353. 

Thanet  (than'et)  (island),  17;  map,  20, 
Dd. 

Theatres,  closing  of  the,  249. 

Thieves,  severe  laws  against,  172,  173, 
323. 

"  Thorough,"  228. 

Threshing  and  winnowing,  picture,  20. 

Tinchebrai  (tinch'bra),  battle  of,  52  ;  map, 
64;  Cc. 

"  Tonnage,"  224. 

Tories,  290,  295. 

Tower  of  London,  built  by  William  the 
Conqueror,  41;  murder  of  Edward  V. 
and  his  brother  in,  picture,  151. 

Towns,  charters  given  by  Richard  I.,  78; 
charters  of,  disregarded  by  John,  83. 

Towton  (tou'ton),  battle  of,  142 ;  map,  64, 
Cb. 

Trafalgar  (trifal 'gar),  battle  of,  320;  map, 
328,  Be. 

Transvaal,  349;  map,  349. 

Trelawny  (trelaw'ny).  Bishop,  268. 

Trent,  affair  of  the,  345,  356. 

Tudor,  Owen,  155. 

Tudor  sovereigns,  genealogy  of,  154,  210. 

' '  Tumble-down  Dick . ' '  See  Richard  C  rom 
well. 

Turks  rule  the  Holy  Land,  47;  capture 
Constantinople,  166. 

"  Twelve-days'  Queen,"  182,  183. 

Tyler,  Wat,  115,  116. 

Tyndale  (tyn'dal),  William,  177. 

Tyne  (River),  9  ;  map,  8. 

Union,  between  England  and  Scotland,  with 
picture  of  flag,  283, 284 ;  between  England 
and  Ireland,  with  picture  of  the  flag, 
317,  318. 

"  Union  Jack,"  with  picture,  283,  284. 

United  States.  See  Colonies,  Discoveries, 
American  Revolution.  Civil  war  in,  344- 
346. 

Utopia  (uto'pia),  171. 


370 


INDEX 


Valhalla  (valhal'a),  home  of  dead  heroes, 
23. 

Venerable  Bede,  21. 

Vicar  of  Wakefield,  325,  326. 

Victoria,  childhood,  329 ;  accession,  335, 
336 ;  portrait,  337 ;  marriage,  with  por- 
trait of  Prince  Albert,  340;  proclaimed 
Empress  of  India,  347  ;  the  literature  of 
her  reign,  352-354  ;  public  interest  in  her 
life,  her  character,  354-356 ;  her  "  per- 
sonal monarchy,"  357. 

Villeinage,  affected  by  the  Black  Death 
and  the  battle  of  Cr^cy,  111-113 ;  pun- 
ishment of  runaway  villeins,  112 ;  at- 
tempts to  burn  the  lists  of  villeins,  115, 
116. 

Virginia,  220. 

Wages,  increased  by  the  Black  Death,  112  ; 
the  slow  rise  of,  171,  172. 

Waldenses  (wolden'sez),  248. 

Wales,  survival  of  Christianity  in,  17  ;  sub- 
jugated by  Edward  I.,  96  ;  the  first  Eng- 
lish Prince  of  Wales,  96,  97  ;  the  Welsh 
at  Cr(5cy,  109  ;  Wales  upholds  Richard  II., 
123 ;  accepts  the  rule  of  Henry  VIII.  as 
that  of  a  Welshman,  164. 

Walker,  the  Reverend  George,  276. 

Wallace,  William,  98  ;  statue,  99. 

Walpole,  Sir  Robert,  with  portrait,  292-295, 
297. 

Warbeck.  Perkin,  157. 

War  of  1812,  324,  325. . 

War  of  the  Austrian  Succession,  296,  297, 
289, 

War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  284-286. 

War  ship  that  conveyed  Henry  VIII.  to 
France,  picture,  165. 

Wars  of  the  Roses,  beginning  of,  140-142  ; 
fierceness  of,  142, 155 ;  last  battle  of,  152. 

Warwick  (wor'ik),  Richard  Nevil,  Earl  of 
(the  king  maker),  141,  14.3-145. 

Washington,  George,  300,  339. 

Watchwords  of  the  French  Revolution,  316. 

Waterloo,  battle  of,  322  ;  map,  328,  Ca. 

Watt,  James,  323. 

Weaving,  fine  weaving  introduced  into 
England,  112 ;  machinery  for  weaving 
invented,  323. 

Wellington,  Arthur  Wellesley,  Duke  of, 
drives  Napoleon  from  Spain,  321 ;  victory 
at  Waterloo,  with  portrait,  322,  335,  342. 

Wesley,  Charles,  295. 

Wesley,  John,  with  portrait,  295. 

Wessex,  21,  29  ;  map,  26,  Bd. 

Wessex,  Godwin,  Earl  of,  29. 

West  Indies,  265,  333. 

Westminster  Abbey,  with  picture,  36,  37. 


Whigs,  290,  295,  305. 

Whitby  Abbey,  picture,  18. 

Whitefield,  (hwif  feld),  George,  295. 

White  Ship,  loss  of,  55. 

Wiclif  (wik'lif)  John,  forms  bands  of 
"  Poor  Priests,"  with  portrait,  117  ;  his 
"  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  of  God,"  his 
translation  of  the  Bible,  118  ;  a  follower 
of  him  burned  at  the  stake,  126;  his 
translation  forbidden  to  be  sold,  146. 

Wight,  Isle  of,  the  refuge  of  John,  87  ;  the 
refuge  of  Charles  I.,  238;  map,  26,  Cd. 

Wilberforce,  William,  333. 

William  the  Conqueror,  visits  England,  31 ; 
invades  and  conquers  England,  is  elected 
and  crowned  king,  32-36  ;  distributes  the 
English  lands,  38 ;  his  treatment  of  Odo, 
choosing  Norman  officers,  38,  39  ;  estab- 
lishes the  Curfew,  clears  the  New  Forest, 
41 ;  compiles  the  Domesday  Book,  41, 
42 ;  death,  42,  66,  89,  97,  336. 

Wilham  I.  (Rufus),  recommended  as  king 
of  England,  42  ;  accession,  43 ;  despoils 
the  church,  44  ;  receives  the  revenues  of 
Normandy,  46  ;  death,  48. 

William  III.  (of  Orange),  marries  Mary 
II.,  269  ;  accession  jointly  with  his  wife, 
269,  270  ;  signs  a  bill  limiting  the  power 
of  the  crown,  favors  religious  liberty, 
with  portrait,  271,  272  ;  opposition  to 
him,  274,  279  ;  his  campaign  in  Ireland, 
with  picture  of  William  crossing  the 
Boyne,  276,  277  ;  death,  280. 

William  IV.,  character,  with  portrait,  330; 
reforms  and  inventions  during  his  reign, 
330-334. 

Winchester,  41  ;  map,  26,  Cd  ;  43,  48,  49  ; 
coiners  punished  at,  53. 

Windsor,  85. 

Winthrop,  John,  229. 

Wolfe,  General  James,  with  portrait,  301. 

Wolsey  (wlil'zi).  Cardinal  Thomas,  with 
picture  of  him  and  his  suite,  168  ;  his 
mode  of  life,  168,  169  ;  portrait,  170 ; 
called  upon  to  obtain  the  pope's  annul- 
ment of  the  first  marriage  of  Henry  VIII. , 
169  ;  arrest  and  death,  170. 

Woodvilles,  the,  148. 

Worcester,  battle  of,  243  ;  map,  236,  Bb. 

Wordsworth,  William,  326. 

World's  Fair,  340. 

Wren  (ren),  Sir  Christopher,  260. 

York,  rival  house  in  the  Wars  of  the  Roses, 
140 ;  genealogy  of  York  sovereigns,  154. 

"Young  Pretender."  See  Charles  Ed- 
ward. 


Electrotyped  and  printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  &»  Co. 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

EDUCATION  -  PSYCHOLOGY 

LIBRARY  ™ 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subjea  to  immediate  recall. 


7  DAY  USE  DURING  SUMMER  SESSIONS 


SENTDNfLL 


APR  1  5 1996 


^  C-BFRKELEV 


3  of  old 

naps,  in 

written 


Con« 


LD  21A-15m-4,'63 
(D6471sl0)476 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 

4  Park  St.,  Boston  ;  85  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York 
378-388  Wabash  Ave.,  Chicago 


YB  30263 

LARNEiyS  HISTORIES 


A  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND 

FOR  THE  USE  OF  SCHOOLS  AND  ACADEMIES 
BY 

J.  N.  LARNED 

WITH  TOPICAL  ANALYSES,  RESEARCH  QUESTIONS  AND 
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  BY  HOMER  P.  LEWIS 

Crown  8vo,  half  leather,  $1.25,  net,  postpaid. 

Larned's  History  of  England  contains  144  Illustrations  (includ- 
ing Maps  not  colored)  4  full-page  colored  Maps  and  4  double 
page  colored  Maps. 

The  book  is  divided  as  follows :  — 

Britain  and  Early  England,  to  1066;  The  Norman- English  Nation,  1066-1199; 
The  Decline  of  Feudalism,  1199-1450;  Renaissance  and  Reformation,  1450-1603; 
The  Century  of  Revolution,  1603- 1688;  The  Period  of  Aristocratic  Government, 
1688-1820;  The  Democratic  Era,  1820-1902;  Appendix. 

A  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

FOR  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS 
BY 

J.  N.  LARNED 

WITH  TOPICAL  ANALYSES  AND  SUGGESTIONS  FOR 
READING  AND  RESEARCH 

Crown  8vo,  half  leather,  I1.40,  net,  postpaid. 

Larned's  History  of  the  United  States  contains  17  full-page 
Maps  II  of  which  are  colored  and  35  text  Maps. 

The  book  is  divided  as  follows  :  — 

Introduction ;  (Discovery  and  Early  Exploration  of  America,  Europe  and  Amer 
ica  in  the  Sixteenth  Century,  The  Aboriginal  Inhabitants  of  North  America,  Physi- 
cal Features  of  North  America  and  their  Historical  Influence);  The  Coming  of  the 
English,  1607-1688;  Colonial  Development,  1688-1775;  The  Making  of  a  Nation, 
1775-1800;  Expansion  in  the  Great  Valleys,  1800-1840;  Sectional  Contention, 
1840-1860;  Secession,  Civil  War,  and  Reunion,  1860-1880;  The  New  Era;  Ap- 
pendix. 

Descriptive  circulars  will  be  sent  upon  application. 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 

4  Park  St.,  Boston  ;  85  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York 
378-388  Wabash  Ave.,  Chicago 


::ii-':: 

\\\\:\\i 


Mil  nnii 


r';::i:ii:i'ni 


m%^-'m 


•!!'■;■ 

^i;-'!; 


s^!i^!;liii';'■'^'i!ii|i^ 


(Ijll;, 


MM 


;i'':^M'i!-nhH 


l"'tiiini^i';iiiiijsi^ 


iilj;!!; 


mh 


^mm 


!liH!' 


